recommended

An absolute waste of money

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Zach Braff and Amanda Peet play Tom and Sofia, a young couple about to welcome their first child into the world. Unfortunately, they're going to need an income very quickly since she's left her job to become a full time mom and he's just lost his job as a chef. So he goes to work with her dad Bob (Charles Grodin) at a wacky advertising agency, run by mellow dude Don Wollebin (Donal Logue). Almost immediately he realizes he has an enemy in his new supervisor, Chip Sanders (Jason Bateman), a paraplegic who has designs on Sofia (with whom he once had a sexual fling).This is one of those cases of solid performers bringing life to less than stellar material. It's all pleasant enough, even in its unrated incarnation (it's never really that nasty or raunchy), but it's also patently predictable. At best, it may induce some smiles, but it never does produce belly laughs. It creates some very mild chuckles with the way it takes jabs at modern motherhood and Toms' new workplace, but doesn't ever kick into a high gear. It's up to the actors to sell it, and they do, up to a point. The stars are likable, as are their characters, and you can't help but feel some sympathy towards Tom as he tries to expose a physically disabled person as being a scumbag - which, of course, makes HIM look bad.Lots of familiar faces here: Mia Farrow (as Sofias' mom), Fred Armisen, Bob Stephenson, Josh Charles, Marin Hinkle, Paul Rudd, Robert John Burke, Romany Malco, Amy Adams, John Benjamin Hickey. Lucian Maisel is appealing as neighborhood kid Wesley, whose talent for stuffing whole burgers into his mouth is exploited by Tom. It's especially nice to see Grodin again, as at this time he hadn't been in a feature film for 13 years. His son Nick plays the small role of Summers."Fast Track" a.k.a. "The Ex" is the kind of thing most people would probably watch once and then forget.Five out of 10.

After losing his job as a New York City cook, lovable slacker-type Zach Braff (as Tom Reilly) finally decides to accept an offer from his wife's father to work for an advertising agency in Ohio. Pretty pregnant Amanda Peet (as Sofia) is a lawyer, but wants to stay home and care for the couple's baby. Arriving in their new suburban home, the trio are greeted by Ms. Peet's parents Charles Grodin (as Bob Kowalski) and Mia Farrow (as Amelia). Mr. Grodin reveals his son-in-law will be trained by Peet's ex-boyfriend from high school, "handicapable" paraplegic Jason Bateman (as Chip Sanders)...In the workplace, Mr. Braff makes a "faux pas" by tossing an imaginary ball to Mr. Bateman, who can't jump from an unseen wheelchair. Taking a break, Braff next eats Bateman's yogurt. The two men become rivals at work, then Braff learns Bateman wants to rekindle his romance with Peet...This film appears to be available in different versions, and reading reviews and/or comments is likely to give away important plot points. My preference is for the "Unrated" version. Most paraplegic characters are heroic; it always seems like the villainous ones shockingly get up and walk, so it's refreshing to leave the story's "villain" in a wheelchair. However, the cheerleader "dream sequence" is extractable, and some very funny "deleted scenes" should have stayed.Some of the excised material could be considered "politically incorrect" - but, with so much raunchy material out and about, "The Ex" looks more sabotaged than sanctified. Best are director Jesse Peretz' scenes spoofing a touchy-feely "New Age" workplace. Grodin and Ms. Farrow are great together. In fact, Grodin's funny/sad portrayal of an older man trying to adapt to the modern workplace is marvelous; in a layered performance, you can watch his strained façade peel away. Grodin is "Supporting Actor" award-worthy. And, Bateman makes the most of his more tenuous role.******* The Ex (2/8/07) Jesse Peretz ~ Zach Braff, Jason Bateman, Amanda Peet, Charles Grodin

First off, The Ex, re-titling of this film isn't accurate. The main woman has sex with Chip's character once and they weren't dating, so he isn't an ex.Different versions of this film are out there. I've seen the version with most of the scenes others said were deleted. I liked this film and it is funny, if only for the character of Chip. He is in a wheelchair, but he's totally a jerk. It is what gives the movie it's meat. Zach Braff plays the straight man to Jason Bateman's cynically funny handicapped role.It has some original ideas, like Chip running the Barcelona running of the bulls in a wheelchair and I liked the kid who could eat a hamburger whole. There were a couple SNL people around, but they didn't add much to the plot, which was disappointing, because they could have. The parents were a bit one dimensional, but I still enjoyed the film.It was witty, mean spirited and not PC. Maybe that is why people didn't like it. I laughed a lot and felt it was a good use of 90 or so minutes. I would recommend it to others to rent.

This movie, without any exceptions really, gets steadily worse and worse until the point it becomes simply tedious to watch and frankly insulting. The clichés rattle out thick and fast, the predictability is so straightforward you don't even feel good when you get it right 10 out of 10 times and the character decisions are so ridiculous you'd be let down if you saw them on a nickelodeon show for 5 year olds.The saving grace is certainly Zach Braff, who we've learnt from Graden Sate and quite a few occasions in Scrubs, has a great ability to serious things up brilliantly whilst still having us consistently at fits at his antics and excellent line delivery. He can make the most straightforward line seem absolutely hilarious, Scriptwriters must love him. He has few chances to shine on this occasion but the chances he gets he ceases hole-heartedly. Amanda Peet and Jason Bateman were less than impressive and everyone else was just plain awful. It wasn't their fault mind you. They were given next to nothing to work realistically with.It can be tricky with these sorts of movies to keep the humor up and the story believable so the odd slip up is more than excusable. But not to this extent and particularly not when it's not even that funny. Braff fans are the only ones who will benefit from this movie and even they may feel slightly let down. Everyone else would be well advised to avoid at all costs.