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Movies / On DVD / The Ex
The Ex

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The Ex (2007)

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Reviews Counted:97

Fresh:18

Rotten:79

Average Rating:4.4/10

Consensus: The Ex suffers from inept direction and characters that are either unsympathetic or plain unpleasant to watch.

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: This rollicking and slightly absurd comedy from director Jesse Peretz (FIRST LOVE, LAST RITES) begins when Tom Reilly (Zach Braff) loses his promising chef job at a swanky New York restaurant. He... This rollicking and slightly absurd comedy from director Jesse Peretz (FIRST LOVE, LAST RITES) begins when Tom Reilly (Zach Braff) loses his promising chef job at a swanky New York restaurant. He is compelled to move to small-town Ohio to take a job with his father-in-law (Charles Grodin) at an advertising agency to support his wife, Sofia (Amanda Peet), and newborn son. Tom's adjustment to the rhythms and rituals of the office world is awkward at best, and complicated by the presence of an old high-school flame of Sofia's (Jason Bateman), a passive-aggressive paraplegic who schemes to get Sofia back. Meanwhile, Sofia must cope with the shock of switching roles from powerful big-city lawyer to stay-at-home suburban mom. Young working parents will identify with the familiar conflicts presented here as the embattled Tom and frustrated Sofia struggle to make sense of their new responsibilities. Braff purveys his patented nerdy charm as a nice guy whose behavior becomes more and more manic as the rug gets continually pulled out from under him, and Peet is a lovely screen presence even as her character's patience and enthusiasm fade in less than attractive ways. Their performances blend wry intelligence with out-and-out slapstick, and they are supported by a superb ensemble cast including Amy Poehler, Amy Adams, Paul Rudd, Donal Logue, and Mia Farrow. While some of the situations and jokes border on tasteless, it's the smart kind of gross-out humor of a Farrelly Brothers or Jay Roach film, and the film never never loses its heart, as embodied by Braff and Peet. [More]

Starring: Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Jason Bateman, Donal Logue

Starring: Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Jason Bateman, Donal Logue, Fred Armisen, Mia Farrow, Paul Rudd, Charles Grodin, Amy Poehler, Amy Adams, Josh Charles

Director: Jesse Peretz

Director: Jesse Peretz
Screenwriter: David Guion, Michael Handelman
Producer: Ted Hope, Anne Carey, Anthony Bregman
Composer: Ed Shearmur
Studio: Weinstein Company

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for The Ex

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: CHUD | comment Comment
02/27/09
Devin Faraci
Devin Faraci
CHUD

Jokes just somehow hung in the air instead of collecting their laugh and moving on.

Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com | comment Comment
09/08/08
Heather Huntington
Heather Huntington
ReelzChannel.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
04/28/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

It should be good. It's got a well-known, talented cast from top to bottom and the subject of ex-boyfriends is limitless. Instead it has the feel of a straight-to-DVD failure.

Full Review Source: The Scorecard Review | comment Comment
03/03/08
Jeff Bayer
Jeff Bayer
The Scorecard Review

Uneven Braff comedy OK, but lacks ex-citement.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
10/22/07
S. Jhoanna Robledo
S. Jhoanna Robledo
Common Sense Media

This movie ain’t all that funny.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
09/28/07
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

All in all, this flick is sure to make even the staunchest movie-goer reassess his or her notions about date movies. It's a "laugh out loud on more than one occasion" kind of movie full of good writing, good acting and characters you'll become invested in

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
06/22/07
IGN Movies

Here's a quirky comedy that has its moments %u2013 many of which we've seen before in previous films.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
06/10/07
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

The whole movie is so generic feeling and such a blatant waste of precious smart-comedy resources, I can't advise anyone to see it. I gave it Network with Snacks because Jason Bateman needs a vehicle for his brilliance wherever he can get one.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
06/04/07
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Zach Braff brings what he always does -- a basic mopey charm, some sarcasm, even a rudimentary self-awareness.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
05/30/07
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Similar to Are We Done Yet? this insipid comedy pits the idiotic hero against an impossibly perfect villain. As a result, the movie has no intelligent, truthful or sympathetic characters.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/24/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The movie's rhythm is off-kilter and oddly paced. Moreover, the film's script seems truncated at points; a lot of the plot details feel underdeveloped.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
05/22/07
Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle

Even if The Ex doesn't always work, on some level you have to respect a summer Hollywood comedy that is daring enough to make you want to see the guy in the wheelchair thrown down the stairs.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
05/22/07
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

Mildly amusing but far too timid.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
05/21/07
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper

Braff has a natural likability, but the screenplay gives him so many stupid, far-fetched and annoying things to do that The Ex loses credibility quickly.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
05/19/07
Hap Erstein
Hap Erstein
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Though Bateman rolls through the film with sly comic skill, the whole exercise seems half-baked -- a high concept and some funny gags that do not a great comedy make.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
05/19/07
Tom Beer
Tom Beer
Time Out New York

The Ex had the potential. The problem is that it just doesn't follow through. Perhaps given the deep cast and the possible exploration on the changing tides of the familial unit I had my hopes too high.

Full Review Source: Movie Views | comment Comment
05/18/07
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

By displaying a little more nerve, the filmmakers could have had a vicious pit bull of a comedy, on the order of Kingpin or The War of the Roses.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
05/16/07
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

What if Zach Braff acted in one more quarter-life-crisis movie, and instead of Sundance it went straight to video? If only that's what had happened to The Ex.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
05/16/07
Gregory Kirschling
Gregory Kirschling
Entertainment Weekly
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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