The Ex (2006)

A slacker is forced to work for his father-in-law after his pregnant wife steps away from her high-paying job.

Director:

Jesse Peretz

Writers:

David Guion, Michael Handelman

Stars:

Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Charles Grodin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zach Braff	...	Tom Reilly
Amanda Peet	...	Sofia Kowalski
Jason Bateman	...	Chip Sanders
Charles Grodin	...	Bob Kowalski
Mia Farrow	...	Amelia Kowalski
Lucian Maisel	...	Wesley
Donal Logue	...	Don Wollebin
Amy Poehler	...	Carol Lane
Fred Armisen	...	Manny
Bob Stephenson	...	Doug
Yaffit Hallely	...	Woman (as Yafit Hallely)
Josh Charles	...	Forrest Mead
Marin Hinkle	...	Karen
Yul Vazquez	...	Paco
Michael Lawson	...	Busboy

Storyline

In Manhattan, Sofia's an attorney and Tom's a cook who has a hard time holding a job. When their first child is born, they agree that she'll be a full-time mom and he'll get a promotion. When he gets fired, he takes a job in Ohio working at the ad agency where her father is assistant director. Tom's assigned to report to Chip, a competitive, hard-driving guy who's in a wheelchair and who's Sofia's ex-boyfriend - from high school. Chip still carries a torch for her, so he connives to make Tom's work life miserable. As Tom's frustrations mount, it may be that Sofia will take Chip's side. Is Tom doomed to fail yet again?

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Plot Keywords:

slacker as protagonist | wheelchair | father in law | cook | kitchen | 

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Taglines:

On January 19, it's not business, it's personal.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

11 May 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Ex

Filming Locations:

Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,394,229, 13 May 2007

Gross USA:

$3,093,394

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,178,640

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Weinstein Company, 2929 Productions, This Is That Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min (European Film Market) 84 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Co-stars Zach Braff and Paul Rudd were both born on April 6 (although Rudd is six years older).

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Goofs

Clearly visible out the window of candy & ice cream shop supposedly in Ohio is an awning with a phone number with a 718 area code, which belongs to New York City's outer boroughs.

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Quotes

Tom Reilly: No offense to Chip, but he's a dick!

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Crazy Credits

"Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson is published by HarperCollins, but the credits write it as "Harpers Collins."

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Alternate Versions

SPOILER WARNING The version of the film on the Unrated DVD is drastically different than, and is in fact shorter than, the theatrical release. The plot point in which it is revealed that Chip was faking his handicap is never revealed. The following scenes are removed from the film:

• The hospital scene where Oliver is born and named.
• The scene where Tom plays basketball with Chip in a wheelchair.
• The scene between Tom and Chip in the locker room.
• The scene in which Chip reveals he can walk to Tom.
• The scene in which Chip reveals he can walk to Sofia, Wesley and Wesley's father. (This appears as an alternate ending on the DVD)
• The scene in Barcelona where Chip is at the Idea building. However, the Unrated version has several short new scenes including:
• A bizarre dream that Tom has.
• More of Amelia's Spanish speaking.

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Connections

References The Karate Kid (1984)

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Soundtracks

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
Written by Randy Bachman
Performed by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Published by Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI)
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

A Nutshell Review: The Ex

If I were to look at it, I would say The Ex aka Fast Track forms a loose trilogy of sorts with regards to growing up, and somewhat like a natural progression in the different stages of life that Zach Braff's characters form when stringed together. With Garden State, it's in the 20s where you're having a feel for the ground, exploring your options and not knowing exactly what life will dish out to you.With One Last Kiss, so you think that you're dead sure about your other half, you're getting married and vowing to spend the rest of your lives together, and suddenly an ingenue comes along, and cast doubts about that.

Plenty of what-will-you-do moments, with outcome that are different depending on your values, but totally possible, and brought out earnestly through Braff's performance as the everyday man. In The Ex, Zach Braff plays the blue collar salaryman whose hotshot lawyer wife had just given birth and as agreed, she'll be a stay home mum. But he just got fired from his job, thus sending their agreement into red alert zone. Taking up his father in law's offer, he uproots himself, wife and baby and starts work in a new age advertising company, only to meet up with his wife's ex.

You'd come to expect the usual jokes about not fitting into a totally different corporate culture with its own idiosyncrasies, conflict with the parents, and the constant threat posed by the wife's ex Chip Sanders played by Jason Bateman, which I bet almost every male would want to kill given his attitude and back stabbing nature. It's classic office politics at work as we root for the survival of Zach's Tom Reilly, though at times you'd expect him to have a little more backbone, and a little bit of smarts to survive the jungle out there.

If that sounds a little like Meet The Parents, it does. And it also is styled after Just Friends in the rivalry department, where two guys do battle over a girl, only that this time, it's the third party up against a married couple. Though I'd say it again, nothing beats riling you up when you see how the bastard at work gets away with almost everything, and get incensed with his obvious intentions to bang his ex, i.e. the wife.

The flow of the movie did seem a little broken at times, which I suspect that there were a lot more filmed than was put on screen, perhaps saving them for the DVD release. The ideas injected into the movie were numerous, but that made for the narrative feeling a little scattered. For instance, Amanda Peet as the wife Sofia Kowalski didn't really have much to do except nurse the baby, and be in some of the most trying comedic scenes such as the ones involving yoga.

Fans of Braff will not want to miss yet another familiar performance, and remember to stay tune during the credits for a coda, as well as various bloopers, some of which are genuinely funnier than the bits that made it to the movie.