Movie Review: The Ex

Amusing bits of comedy daub the relatively unoriginal "The Ex", which marks director Jesse Peretz' first real Hollywood outing in years. Aspiring comedian Zach Braff portrays a just-shy-of-likeable character that is surrounded by slapstick circumstances and eccentric personas. While the film manages to entertain with a few outrageous gags and peculiar characters, the lack of an original storyline or any unique comedy forces an overwhelmingly mediocre result.

Tom Reilly (Zach Braff) is happily married to Sofia (Amanda Peet) and they're about to have a baby. But the day Sofia gives birth, Zach is fired from his job as a chef. Having a trend of being unable to hold down a job, he convinces Sofia to move to Ohio where he can finally accept a job offer from her father Bob (Charles Grodin). Immediately upon being hired, he meets Chip Sanders (Jason Bateman) who knew Sofia during college. A rivalry starts, and the two struggle to outdo one another at work, frame each other for various screw-ups, and fight for the attention of Sofia and Bob.

Has Hollywood completely lost its ability to devise an original story? It would seem so, as the impertinently titled "The Ex" is a confirmation to the unimaginative muck that is continually being churned out. With its banal plot, the events and circumstances that befall our hero also seem peculiarly commonplace. It appears that as each scene unfolds, we're reminded of a similar happening in a different film; as if "The Ex" is comprised of stolen tidbits from a dozen other better movies. While some of the jokes and antics are still humorous, even the slapstick feels recycled. The lack of an original story shares the film's downfall with its pathetically predictable characters and resolutions.

Most of the cast are incredibly eccentric and individualistic, but this tends to annoy half of the time and allow for utter predictability the other half. Playing out like clockwork, each of the characters simply falls into place and they go through generic motions. Adding very little amusement to the grand scheme of things, we're left with the classically contemptible plot sorely sticking out.