“Ex” marks a spotty comedy
Bob RossThe Ex
(PG-13; 90 minutes)
Bob’s Grade: C+
When he loses his New York job the same time his wife has their first child, a young dad takes a step he dreads: He moves the family to Ohio and goes to work for his father-in-law.
Hilarity and growth are supposed to ensue, but “The Ex” (originally titled “Fast Track” when filming began two years ago) delivers only scattered laughs that rely mainly on eccentricity and cruelty.
As often happens with poorly constructed screenplays, the result is a fine batch of actors stuck with less than stellar situations and dialogue.
Zach Braff (”Garden State” and TV’s “Scrubs”) stars as Tom Reilly, a misfit sort of guy with a good heart and bad business sense. Amanda Peet (”Syriana,” TV’s “Studio 60″) plays his wife Sofia, who puts her law career on hold to raise their son while Tom works for her dad, the supervisor at an oddly new-age advertising agency (in Ohio?). It’s a treat to see Charles Grodin back on the screen after a 12-year hiatus. He plays Sofia’s quirky father, with Mia Farrow as his smiling spouse.
The main comic premise is that one of Tom’s co-workers is a former flame of Sofia’s, and he has apparently never gotten over his crush. Jason Bateman (TV’s “Arrested Development”) plays this devious manipulator, the film’s title character. He’s Sofia’s former cheerleading partner who now uses a wheelchair and never misses a chance to make Tom look bad in front of the other employees.
Handicapped by wheelchair jokes and senseless plot U-turns, “The Ex” wastes its best gags but manages to earn a few chuckles as poor Tom struggles to salvage his job, marriage and self-esteem.
See the trailer at Bob Ross Movies.
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May 10th, 2007 at 9:26 am
Saw Braff on Conan the other night. They showed the clip of him dropping Bateman down the stairs. No one laughed.
“You’ve got to see it in context,” he said.
When you have to show a clip in context, that’s not a good sign for a comedy.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
can there be bug marks