The Ex (PG-13)
Mike:
Scott:
Scott: Tonight we are reviewing The Ex
starring Zach Braff as Tom Reilly, a guy who can't hold down a job. He is married to Sofia Kowalski (Amanda Peet),who leaves her high paying job as a lawyer to be a stay-at-home mom to their newborn.
What did you think Mike?
Mike: I laughed all the way through this. It is not deep, but it is funny.
How about you?
Scott: It was funny, but it was predictable too. It had a very light touch gross out/childish type humor, but not too much.
Mike: Admit it, there were a few things you didn't see coming.
Scott: True, but there should have been more things that I didn't see coming.
I liked seeing Zach Braff again. The last movie I saw him in was Garden State, which is a very good movie. This wasn't good like that. He did well, but he wasn't hitting on all cylinders with this movie.
Mike: This is not as serious or even as romantic as Garden State, but it is more of a straight comedy.
Zach shows off some of his Scrubs wackiness without being ridiculous. He is a highlight of the film.
Scott: I don't know about that. Jason Bateman, as wheelchair bound Chip Sanders, does really well.
Mike: I love Jason Bateman. After Arrested Development, he can do no wrong, but in this movie he spends more time being creepy than funny.
Scott: He was very good at being creepy though.
Mike: He is a great choice for this movie.
Scott: One thing I don't like about most movies like this is the woman dumps, or stops trusting, her long term boyfriend/spouse because of a Harry-come-lately. It just always irks me as a married man. And the Sanders character really irked me.
Mike: Yes. You were supposed to hate him and side with Zach. And we did, so mission accomplished.
The thing I liked is that his wife is not as shallow or gullible as we usually see.
Scott: I think Bateman is becoming a Frat Pack member. Not that Braff is a member, but Bateman has been in a bunch of their movies and fellow 'almost' member Paul Rudd shows up as Braff's boss in the beginning of the movie.
Mike: The third member of the love-triangle is Amanda Peet as Tom's wife Sofia. She is funny and a very sexy young mother.
Scott: Her character got pregnant during Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and she finally had the baby in this movie. Talk about a crossover.
Mike: I was surprised to see who was playing Sofia's parents: Charles Grodin and Mia Farrow.
Grodin has a great dry sense of humor I have always loved and is actually pretty funny in this film. I thought it had been awhile since I had seen him in a movie and apparently this is his first film in 13 years.
Scott: I liked him in this. His character was just this side of 'with it'. It seemed like you weren't sure he was going to make any sense at any time in the movie.
Mike: A number of familiar faces walk through the movie, but most are wasted. Donal Logue is Dan Wollebin the new age CEO of the company where Braff and Grodin work.
Am I the only one who wants to see the return of Knights of Prosperity?
Scott: Yes, you are the only one.
Mike: You only say that because you never saw it.
Amy Poehler and Fred Armisen from Saturday Night Live make very brief appearances.
Scott: Early on, I wasn't sure what kind of movie we had, a Frat Pack lite, or an SNL reunion show. It was odd to see so many familiar actors.
Mike: Also Josh Charles from the way underrated Sports Nite.
There is an Aaron Sorkin connection, since Peet is on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
Scott: I thought we would see more of Charles and was surprised we didn't
Mike: Sports Nite also featured Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy and Peter Krause before they were well known.
Scott: I liked the show, but like Studio 60 will soon be, it was canceled.
Mike: Why were they canceled? All together now, because they were good!
Scott: This looks like the first big movie for director Jesse Peretz.
Mike: And for the writers David Guion and Michael Hanleman.
Scott: He did direct the Foo Fighters' Learn to Fly. Probably his best known work in the US.
Mike: This movie is not groundbreaking, but I found it entertaining and I laughed quite a bit. There is at least one South Park moment that made me laugh.
Scott: I thought it was more like Final Destination. Or Lost for that matter.
Mike: Final Destination, now that is a funny movie. Actually, what was funny was that they made so many sequels.
Scott: I liked the Final Destination movies. I thought the way they kill the actors was very creative.
The funniest scene for me in this movie involved foam baseball bats.
Anyway, what do you rate this?
Mike: I give this a 3 overall and 3 for comedy.
How about you?
Scott: I give this a 2.5 overall and a 3 for comedy. Like I said, it was funny, but predictable.
Mike: Seeing this movie may make you remember why your ex is an Ex.
