The Ex, staring Zach Braff and Amanda Peet is this spring’s mediocre romantic comedy. Jesse Peretz makes quick work of same old same old with a hint of the unnecessary.
When married couple Tom Reilly (Braff) and Sofia Kowalski (Peet) decide they need a fresh start, they move from New York to the Midwest. Tom takes a job at Sofia’s father’s advertising company and Sofia decides to leave her law practice to be a stay at home mom. When Tom gets to work on the first day he learns that one of his co-workers had a brief relationship with his wife and his father-in-law loves him like a son. Chip Sanders (Jason Bateman) uses his wheelchair-bound status as a weapon to undermine Tom and attempts to ruin him personally and professionally.
The role of Tom Reilly fits Zach Braff well. The uncomfortable, unstable, unsteady Tom doesn’t seem like much of a leap for Braff. I wonder if Braff was actually playing himself. Still, his portrayal of a dad and husband trying to do the right thing for his wife and daughter, even at the cost of his own sanity is very touching at times and almost funny at others. There is a scene in a kitchen at the beginning of the movie that is very funny, savor it, they are few and far between. I do feel like there is too much Braff and not enough Tom in this role.
I liked Jason Bateman as prick-ola Chip Sanders. His character is extremely cutting. Everything he says can be taken three ways but he really only means them the worst way. Bateman’s control is outstanding. If Chip’s demeanor cracked even once, it would be devastating to the movie and to the character. He should have his own spin off movie.
Sofia’s dad, Bob Kowalski, is one of those characters who seems so happy he just might be suicidal. He hates his job but it is such a part of his identity that he doesn’t want to leave it. I adored Charles Grodin as this fake-it-till-you-make-it ad executive. His performance is charming and a little strange (but in a good way.)
The place where Tom and Bob work is this kind of hippy-dippy ad firm. The place is full of strange rules and fun atmosphere. The best thing about it is that it acts like a character in the story. In every way it defies conventional wisdom. Every time Tom zigs right the ad the ad firm pushes him left. There is no way to know how to behave in the presence of the firm because it never acts the way you’ve always been taught a business environment should.
There is a nearly charming story here. The characters are all interesting. The setting is pretty fun. It has the makings of a really funny comedy. Like an immature chef, Jesse Peretz throws two or three bad ingredients the stew and makes it unpalatable. This movie reminds me of a cake made by one of the best bakers in the world; the finest chocolates, freshly ground flour, cake sugar, farm fresh eggs, homemade frosting topped off by disgusting Hershey Kisses. Comedy is a delicate mix of drama and timing. When your comedy is trying to make a smart point about gender roles, and being responsible, don’t then ruin it by throwing in awkward slapstick. It’s insulting to the audience. It says “You aren’t smart enough to get the joke here so we are going to throw in this trip and fall to tell you that it is time to laugh.” You might as well have one of those signs they use to signal laughter in the studio during the filming of sitcoms. It also tells me that either Pertz wasn’t confident enough in the script or the writers, David Guion and Michael Handelman are not confident enough in their own script that they have to punctuate it with these comedic misplacements.
When the movie ends, it leaves you wishing you had visited another restaurant.