One of the opening scenes in The Ex is a food fight, which is an apt metaphor for this comedy: It's a bit of a mess and pretty wasteful.
Comment
05/10/07
The Ex (2007)
18
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:98
Fresh:18
Rotten:80
Average Rating:4.3/10
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... [More]
Starring: Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Jason Bateman, Donal Logue
Director: Jesse Peretz
Reviews for The Ex
Plays like a network sitcom with a few four-letter words thrown in that wouldn't make it past the censors.
05/10/07
It's smarter and riskier than most comedies, and that counts for a lot.
05/10/07
As it is, we are left to wonder why neither Tom's wife nor anyone working at Chip's office are not able to see through his machinations.
05/10/07
Jesse Peretz directs, and note how he treats the script (by David Guion and Michael Handelman) in its broadest slapstick elements. Not too well, that's how.
05/10/07
Even likable star Zach Braff can't salvage this clunker.
05/10/07
You can pinpoint the exact moment when The Ex loses its nerve, strangeness and soul.
05/10/07
Though it boasts a few moments of odd, laid-back humor, what distinguishes the picture is that it's not just bad, but perversely bad.
05/10/07
Braff and Bateman make this patchwork just funny enough to be worth our trouble.
05/10/07
It simultaneously feels truncated and interminable, and it grossly wastes the comic talents of Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Donal Logue and Charles Grodin, making his first movie in 13 years.
05/10/07
Neither Braff nor Bateman will look back on The Ex as a worthwhile relationship but a one-night stand that left them with a headache and an unpleasant burning sensation.
05/10/07
A stunningly insipid romance, marks an all-time low for actor Zach Braff -- his Gigli, if you will.
05/10/07
Zach Braff is just about the world's most insufferable comedic actor, and The Ex does nothing to diminish that reputation.
05/10/07
The Ex, directed with a breathtaking lack of instinct by Jesse Peretz, is always at least a half-beat off.
05/10/07
There's a prescription for making an effective dark comedy: the film must generate equal parts discomfort and laughter. The Ex offers plenty of the former but precious little of the latter.
05/10/07
The Ex uses vulgarity for its own sake, never to make a larger point, and worst of all, it is shockingly unfunny.
05/10/07
The so-called comedy, which is really only a sacrificial lamb tossed in front of the "Spider-Man 3" behemoth, is about as funny as a foreclosure notice.
05/10/07
The Ex not only surprises in the consistency and effectiveness of its dark wit, but, more importantly, lets Jason Bateman do most of the comedic heavy lifting.
05/10/07
Everything that can go wrong with a comedy like this does.
05/09/07
No less than two Ex-men do battle in Jesse Peretz's dog eat dog comedic career brawl The Ex, and it's all about romantic rivalry, office turf wars, and yet another movie along with Waitress, about dining out.
05/05/07
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