"The Ex" (2007): Awful to the Ex-treme

I really have to hand it to The Ex. After nine years of reviewing movies, I thought that I might've started to let my guard down, criticizing flicks with a softer touch than I used to have. But then along comes The Ex, a putrid, toxic, so-called "comedy" that arrives with enough insipid characters and hateful humor to replenish anyone's supply of verbal venom.

"Scrubs" star Zach Braff plays Tom Reilly, a working-class schmoe eagerly awaiting the birth of his son. But just as his wife Sofia (Amanda Peet) leaves her cushy law firm job to become a full-time mom, Tom loses his own job, forcing him to do the unthinkable: take up his loopy father-in-law (Charles Grodin) on an offer to work at his ad agency. The situation takes a turn for the extremely awkward when Tom is paired up with Chip Sanders (Jason Bateman), a wheelchair-bound co-worker who's frighteningly nice, over-achieving -- and, worst of all, a former flame of Sofia's. Chip's torch still burns strong, as he proceeds to make Tom's life a living nightmare, humiliating him with every sneaky method at his disposal while trying to woo Sofia back to him. Now it's up to Tom to think fast in order to trounce the underhanded Chip and prove to Sofia what a responsible family man he can be.