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Reviews

The Ex

The pratfalls of yuppiedum

By CHRIS WANGLER | May 17, 2007

2.5 Stars

VIDEO: Watch the trailer for The Ex.

The premise here is flawed. Chip, an asshole in a wheelchair (cleverly played by Jason Bateman), is supposed to be the ex-boyfriend of Sofia (Amanda Peet), an ambitious lawyer turned full-time mom. Workplace pandemonium breaks out when Sofia’s hapless husband, Tom (Zach Braff), becomes Chip’s new underling at a flaky new-age ad agency. One big problem: Chip isn’t really “the Ex,” as the title so baldly declares, and neither does he ever get close to bedding his former cheerleading partner. The oversight hints at a split between creative and marketing. Director Jesse Peretz (former bassist for Boston alt-rock legends the Lemonheads) is interested in sophisticated laughs about the pratfalls of yuppiedom; the producers want a Farrelly brothers knockoff. The result is a pleasing and forgettable muddle with a surplus of disappointing cameos. Why they didn’t stick with the original title, Fast Track, is a mystery.

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