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:

wheelchair | father in law | cook | kitchen | restaurant | 

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Taglines:

Credit-grabbing, back-stabbing, wife-nabbing. Just another day at the office.

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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, 11 May 2007

Gross USA:

$3,091,922

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

In an interview with Creative Screenwriting magazine, the screenwriters, David Guion and Michael Handelman, virtually disowned the film. Guion said "That movie was a bit of a cautionary story for screenwriters in terms of that it was a movie that struggled a little bit and didn't test well initially, and the financiers panicked and said, 'We better show a lot of people getting hit in the balls.' It was unfortunate because the director, Jesse Peretz, is great and very talented, but the movie was ultimately taken out of his hands."

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Goofs

Throughout the movie, Oliver changes in size inconsistently to the time line of the movie. For example, upon the arrival of the family to their home in Ohio, while on the porch, Oliver appears to be 1-2 months old. When the action shifts to inside the house, Oliver has aged by several months. In his next scene, the child has returned to his newborn size.

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Quotes

Chip Sanders: [hits Tom with wheelchair] That's for stealing my yogurt, douche.

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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

Features Molto Mario (1996)

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Soundtracks

Little Game
(uncredited)
Written by Mark McAdam
Performed by Mark McAdam and Karen Elson

User Reviews

I Hate Chip Sanders

Jason Bateman shined in this average comedy featuring Zach Braff and Amanda Peet. Despite being in a wheelchair for the entire movie, Jason Bateman does a fantastic job making the audience despise his character Chip Sanders. Tom Reilly (Braff) moves back to his wife's home town to take a job working with his father-in-law. Despite his nice-guy efforts, co-worker Chip just won't let Tom feel like he's doing anything right. When we discover that Chip is actually Tom's wife's ex, Bateman's performance had me wishing that Zach Braff would strangle Chip in a fit of rage.

Zach Braff plays the likable main character who, just when you start to cheer for him, finds some idiotic way to disappoint you. I expected a little more from Amanda Peet after her hysterical performance in The Whole Nine Yards, but she performed solidly.

Jason Bateman proves in this flick just why he received so much critical acclaim for Arrested Development.