Search - The Ex (Unrated Widescreen Edition) on DVD

Jerry S. from OCEANSIDE, CA
Reviewed on 2/23/2016...

"FUNNY" :-)

Loved the Theatrical Version... not so much the DVD

W. Withers | 08/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really liked this movie when I saw it in theaters.. it made me laugh and not very many movies can do that. So when I bought it I was all excited about watching it again. The DVD version is nothing like the movie I saw at the theater. They cut all the good parts out!!! I want them to release a theaterical release version so I can have the movie that I thought I bought originally."

"The Ex" Does Not Mark The Spot

Mark Eremite | Seoul, South Korea | 06/07/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"It's never a good sign when filmmakers can't figure out what to call their films. This one was originally marketed under the name of "Fast Track" (the defunct title also shows up in the end credits -- whoops!), indicating that it's about the hijinks to be found in the corporate zeitgeist. Then the name was changed, ostensibly to draw focus to the alpha male struggle that makes up much of the plot.

Such card-swapping doesn't make much difference. This movie, by any other name, would smell just as stanky. Zach Braff, donning a personality as interesting as acetate, plays Tom Reilly, a recently fired chef who gets a job at his father-in-law's advertising agency. Also employed there? His wife's sorta-kinda-ex-boyfriend, Chip, who also happens to be a passive-aggressive wheelchair-bound jerk.

So, let's see ... the advertising milieu means lots of commercial gags, we have an upwardly-mobile careerwoman stuck playing homemaker in suburban Ohio ("Look at all the white people," Tom says when they first drive into town), Tom is working for his father-in-law (a wealth of material there, even if it is dusty), and look at that cast! Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Jason Bateman, Charles Grodin, Mia Farrow, Donal Logue, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco. I love all those folks! On paper, this looks like it has the potential to be a great movie.

Maybe they should've written some more stuff on that paper, though. Like a coherent plot, or funny jokes, or creative character struggles, for example. Instead, we have pratfall after pratfall, lots of "cripple jokes," and a kid who can swallow an entire hamburger without chewing once.

Braff and Peet play it straight to an entire cadre of wack-jobs (Sofia attends New Age Baby Classes where moms ask their infants for permission to pick them up; Tom's co-workers toss around a pretend "teamwork" ball and aren't allowed to say "I'm sorry" unless in writing), but none of these weirdos is given much room to stretch. Of all the talent in the film, only Grodin's father-in-law Bob comes the closest to making an impression.

It's not his fault. The script needs multiple doctors. Chip sabotages Tom every chance he can get, but instead of calmly explaining his predicament to his family and friends, Tom pulls the classic screwball comedy move of fighting fire with fire, making himself look jealous, insenstive to Chip's handicap, and pretty much crazy. I'd even accept this turn of events if Tom's responses were a little zanier than, for example, stealing Chip's yogurt or (very very) poorly concealing a camera beneath a tented magazine.

These are really bad ideas, both for revenge and for a movie. The makers of this dud should've done more than just tinker with the title; they should've retooled the whole thing, preferably with the help of the comedically proven cast."

Pathetic!

MissPammy | 09/07/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"As much as I love Zach Braff and Amanda Peet, I really thought this movie was a bust. I would have given it 1 star except for the two of them. This is a very dark "comedy," and most of the movie is rather depressing as Braff goes from one predicament to another. You feel sorry for him rather than wanting to laugh. Jason Bateman's character is really too diabolical for a comedy, and the constant pratfalls are just not funny. The movie seems to miss its beat somehow. The concept is sort of cute, a guy whose boss just happens to be his wife's ex, but the movie is more like a foray into an evil and disturbed alternate universe than the side-splitting hilarity I was expecting. I would not recommend this movie."