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, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$3,091,922, 8 July 2007

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

Tom and Manny walk down a street supposedly in Ohio. In the background, however, we can clearly see the High Line, an abandoned elevated railway in Manhattan.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

A series of outtakes and bloopers are played over the end credits.

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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

Magnum
Written by Jimmy Kaleth
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

Fairly Amusing

A fairly amusing show where Braff's character deals with a co-worker in a new job that had had a thing with his wife in high school. This comedy doesn't bring anything new to the genre, but is a fair watch overall with some interesting elements.

The Good: Appropriate length, Fair acting, Great gag reel (after some credits start rolling), amusing overall, villain is mean, but doesn't cross the line- after all comedies are not about sadistic, truly evil villains. They are usually funny, selfishly misguided people, and Bateman fits the bill perfectly.

The Bad: Too much slapstick humor, had more potential, some scenes were unfocused and with no real purpose.