It has changed titles at least once and opening dates a lot more than that. But no agile marketing campaign could save today’s audacious but futile attempt at politically incorrect humor, “The Ex,” formally known as “Fast Track.”
The name was probably changed because the performance of the supporting male nemesis character — who is the ex-boyfriend referred to in the new title — outshines that of the male lead here. In this case, that’s an undaunted Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”) as a wheelchair-bound mega-jerk stealing the movie from the hapless boob played weakly by “Scrubs” star Zach Braff.
Braff’s protagonist Tom Reilly must reform his career apathy when his successful wife Sofia (Amanda Peet) decides to quit work and be a stay-at-home mom with the arrival of their new baby. The family moves from The City to the outback of suburban Ohio, where Tom takes a job in the small but backbiting advertising agency run by his father-in-law (much-missed wag Charles Grodin).
It is there Tom encounters Chip Sanders (Bateman), Sofia’s former high school paramour. He’s a freakishly well-endowed, psychopathically competitive would-be paraplegic who is obsessed at besting Tom on the job and in his own marriage. Chip gleefully abuses his differently abled status at every turn in order to try to bed Sofia again.
Now, you have to give director Jesse Peretz and screenwriters David Guion and Michael Handelman at least some credit for originality for conceiving and executing such a perverse scenario. And they manage to land a few impressive comedic actors for minor roles and cameos, including Mia Farrow, Paul Rudd, Amy Adams, Amy Poehler and Donal Logue.
But the whole affair stays off-balance because Bateman’s inspired villain is so much more compelling than the hero and because the tone of the piece jolts back and forth so weirdly. One minute, “The Ex” is a reality-based romantic comedy about the struggles of a young yuppie couple. The next minute, it’s a shock farce with annoyingly contrived plot turns.
And for the audience, there are far too few minutes in between that aren’t excruciating.
‘The Ex’
2/5 stars
Starring: Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Jason Bateman
Director: Jesse Peretz
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief language and a drug reference
