Zach Braff stars
as Tom Reilly – a New York
cook with a heart of gold, but a wallet full of lint.
He’s married to a big time attorney, Sofia
(Amanda Peet), but, when she gets pregnant, they decide she should give
up the
high pressure and long hours. After
an
incident leaving Tom without a job, they move back to her hometown in Ohio,
where her father
(Charles Grodin) gets Tom a gig at the advertising firm where he works. Now, Tom has to do well to
make his
father-in-law look good, and be trained by Sofia’s
ex-boyfriend (or ex-one night stand
could be more appropriate), Chip (Jason Bateman), who sees this as an
opportunity to get her back.
Will Tom be a
savior or scourge at work? Will
Chip be
able to drive him crazy enough to blow it all?
The Ex
feels and
entertains like a good TV sit-com, especially with the acting talent
assembled
here, and that shouldn’t be taken as an insult.
Bateman steals the show as the wheelchair bound
antagonist who has
everyone believing his is a kind hearted soul, but relishes in showing
his
evil, dark and calculating side to Tom with glee and intimidation, like
a
madman bent on destruction. He
is the
best reason to see the movie, and director Jesse Peretz and the film
editing
crew try to feature him as much as possible as the battle between the
two
reaches wacky proportions.
Braff counters
with his well known awkwardness, lack of confidence and general
discomfort with
the world, which is funny for those who haven’t grown tired
of it, especially
as he is driven to the edge by constantly offending Chip and receiving
the
brunt of his attacks. Even
Peet gets a
few moments to make us laugh as Sofia
struggles to fit in with the other mothers and in this town she left
behind for
the bright lights of the big city.
Writers Dan
Guion and Michael Handelman weave in some workplace humor, and push the
envelope a bit, but never to Farelly Brothers or Wayans Brothers type
levels. The Ex resolves itself
quite
quickly and suddenly, which usually is a blessing, but
it could have been strung
out and strengthened just a bit more for the audience.
2 ½ Waffles (Out
of 4)
The
Ex is
rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief language and a drug
reference.
Copyright
2007 - WaffleMovies.com
