THE EX

Jason Bateman is the Eddie Haskell of the 80's generation, and easily one of the funniest people carrying a SAG card.

We've all heard stories about Elvis renting out theaters for private screenings, and I've always wondered how much this set him back. Well, if you've got my taste in movies, you can "rent out" the theater for a "private screening" on the Wednesday after opening weekend for the mere price of admission. Yes, for a total of $14.50, my movie buddy and I saw The Ex in an empty theater, and it's a good thing. With the auditorium all to ourselves, we were free to talk, laugh, and add our own Mystery Science Theater commentary without disturbing a soul. It improved the movie-going experience tenfold.

The Ex

Much to Sofia's relief, Tom agrees to move to Ohio and accept a job at Sunburst, the advertising agency where Sofia's father works. Though welcomed warmly by Sofia's parents (Mia Farrow and Charles Grodin), it's clear that our young marrieds have outgrown life in the Midwest. While Sofia spends her days alone with the baby, Tom faces the horror of employment at Sunburst. Not only are the other employees a bunch of New-Agey flakes who toss around an imaginary "Yes Ball" as a morale booster, but Tom is forced to work with Chip Sanders a.k.a. THE EX.

Finally the movie comes to life! Who wants to watch Zach Braff bungle his way through scene after scene when you can watch Jason Bateman play evil from a wheelchair?! As Chip, Bateman is deliciously smarmy, sleazy, and creepy, but he pulls it off with surprising charm. He's the Eddie Haskell of the 80's generation, and easily one of the funniest people carrying a SAG card.

Tom immediately gets off on the wrong foot with Chip, quickly earning himself a reputation as the office boob. Everything he does looks like a slam to Chip's disability, and hilarity ensues as Tom makes one faux pas after another. Even so, it seems a lot like Chip is trying to sabotage Tom and steal his wife, and Tom is horrified to learn that Sofia slept with this slimeball back in high school. Now the gloves are really off, and Tom must save his career, his marriage, and expose Chip as the freaky faker he really is.

Meanwhile, Sofia is growing more lonely and miserable by the day. She's even started hanging out with Wesley (Lucian Maisel), a little neighbor boy who's father won't let him watch TV. He's got this funny little speech impediment/regional accent that just makes you want to pinch his widdle cheeks, and he steals every scene he's in. His skill for devouring an entire hamburger in a single bite could make for the biggest commercial craze since Clara Peller asked, "Where's the beef?!", but will Tom's erratic behavior scare away Sofia's only friend and destroy the greatest ad campaign in Sunburst history? Will Sofia be left to spend her days at a crazy mother's group led by her weirdo high school classmate (Amy Adams)? Say it isn't so!

Of course everything works out for Tom and Sofia in the end. We knew it would. Whatever. Who cares? It's watching Chip get what he deserves that's absolutely divine. Jason Bateman single-handedly makes the movie, and I can't wait to see what he does next.

DVD NOTES

Of the usual deleted scenes, alternate opening, and bloopers, the decidedly un-racy "Unrated" DVD edition of The Ex offers a curious selection of Alternate Endings. They are, in fact, quite different from each other, but the most interesting one was entitled "Alternate Ending #3 (Theatrical Version)". Theatrical Version? Wait... what? Turns out that the ending of the film on DVD is different than the one that was shown in the theatrical release (I asked Jennifer, who did the original review). Weird! Especially strange because this Theatrical Version ending turned out to be much more funny and politically incorrect than the one on the DVD cut. Too bad there wasn't commentary on these extras in order to explain what they were thinking!