The Ex
Score: 5/10
Oh the excitement when I found that this movie had leaked a few weeks early. I’m still an amature when it comes to finding movies online, so this was my first found leak, and what a doozy it is. Alright, not at all, but it was Zach Braff so I decided to check it out. Garden State, the more I watch it, gets less and less impressive and I wonder why I loved it so much. Maybe the soundtrack? No, it had to be Natalie Portman. I’m still looking for my Sam, my perfect little indie chick. Damn you Garden State for that. Then there was The Last Kiss, which I found to be surprisingly good. Ended up being a lot darker than I thought and it was a lot more enjoyable because of it. Now we have Zach Braff’s latest movie, The Ex.
For some reason it used to be called Fasttrack, back when it was supposed to come out in January, and The Ex isn’t any better. It’s basically a story of Zach Braff being able to smell bulls**t from a mile away so he always calls out his bosses and gets fired. Well, I guess it’s time to take up your dad on his job offer now that I’m fired again he tells his wife Amanada Peet. First, I have to address something. I’m a huge Scrubs fan, and enjoyed the Last Kiss, but what’s with Zach Braff having the same exact perfect relationship with whoever he’s married with in that particular movie. And the scenes of him and his love alone talking in the bedroom are almost identical in both movies and a lot of times through Scrubs. I don’t know, just bothered me and feels really unoriginal anymore.
I guess that’s a good segueway into my next point. There’s nothing original in this whole movie. It didn’t really even make me feel good and that’s mainly the point of Zach Braff led movies, they’re feel good movies. Well, kind of. The Last Kiss I guess contradicts that. But what about the rest of the plot. Zach takes that offer from Amanda’s dad (who’s the dad from the Beethoven dog movies), and enters the crazy, messed up world of Sunburst Marketing, or something like that. I can’t remember. Fred Armisen and Amy Poehler make minor character appearances outside their usual SNL characters, but it’s Jason Bateman, of Arrested Development fame, that surprised me most. I realize he’s “the ex” I guess and supposed to be a girlfriend stealing, pain in the ass, a*hole, but man does he accomplish that and more in his role here.
I hated him so much by the end that it just distracted me from the overall movie, which was pretty funny at times. But what did I really expect. Honestly, the movie was over before I knew it and I was left staring at the credits rolling wondering “is that really it?” It wasn’t! Crazy bloopers! But I was right though, the movie was in fact over and it all just felt like a lackluster summer film there to get us ready for the big summer films that are, well, actually in the summer. Whew, I’m talking all kinds of trash. I rarely ever talk trash do I. I think I’m just sad Zach Braff made his first truly crappy flick and I walked away with no afterthoughts whatsoever, which was the opposite case with his other movies. I keep saying “his” movies, but he didn’t write The Last Kiss or The Ex, that I know of, so he can’t really be blamed. In the end it’s simply not a good movie and is hurt by the fact that I’ve seen all kinds of good movies lately. If I were the actors in this movie and I was getting paid what they were, then I’d be in this movie in a second. It seemed like they had fun on the set. But since I’m not paid like they are and am super poor, I’ll spend my $15, which I would’ve spent on The Ex: Super Special Director’s Cut, on three boxes of Magic Stars cereal and have cereal to eat for weeks! Mmmm mmm that stuff’s good! The Ex is not.
P.S. If you’re a girl, you’ll most likely enjoy this. But I don’t mind chick flicks and still tore this film a new one, so who knows. Fletch Won, Braff’s new movie he co-wrote with the creator of Scrubs based on the Fletch series should be pretty good though.
