The Ex

Plot

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

Release Year: 2006

Rating: 5.6/10 (11,053 voted)

Critic's Score: 32/100

Director:
Jesse Peretz

Stars: Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Charles Grodin

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?

Writers: David Guion, Michael Handelman

Cast:

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

Taglines:
Credit-grabbing. Back-stabbing. Wife-nabbing. Just another day at the office.

Details

Official Website:
The Weinstein Co [United States] |

Release Date: 11 May 2007

Filming Locations: Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Gross: $3,091,922
(USA)
(8 July 2007)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Canada: 77 min
 |
USA: 89 min
 |
Germany: 93 min
(European Film Market)
 |
USA: 84 min
(unrated version)
 |
USA: 84 min
(unrated version)
 |
Argentina: 95 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

Charles Grodin's first film role in 13 years.

Goofs:

Continuity:
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.

Quotes:

Bob Kowalski:
Why would I give you my 'yes' ball?

User Review

Mediocre comedy

Rating: 6/10


Zach Braff ("Scrubs"), Amanda Peet ("Studio 60..") and Jason Bateman
("Arrested Development") help this little film just over the "average"
bar. Even though their characters are pretty shallow, they put in a
good performance and partly succeed in making you forget about the
shabby script. There are a couple of funny moments, but without this
cast the movie would have fallen apart, its strictly formulaic approach
and lack of any inspiration just being too obvious. It's not as bad as
"The Last Kiss", but Braff should choose his options more wisely,
unless he wants his well-deserved Garden State acclaim to go down the
drain.

Recommended only for fans of the above-mentioned stars, the rest of you
is not missing out on anything.