The Good: Good idea, Decent acting
The Bad: VERY predictable, Characters are all fairly monolithic, Not funny
The Basics: In a disappointing attempt with a clever concept, Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson play a couple whose breakup has serious consequences for more than just them.
Every now and then, I think a movie is entirely misrepresented, perhaps even to the person who is directing the movie. Ivan Reitman, well known for directing comedies, might well have been duped by Don Payne, who is well known for writing comedies. Perhaps both were duped by the studio in making My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Or maybe the marketing department just got it wrong when it figured it to be a comedy. After all, My Super Ex-Girlfriend does have Eddie Izzard, Rainn Wilson, and Anna Faris who are all fairly well known for comedies.
When Matt Saunders is pushed into dating by his friend Vaughn, he ends up asking out Jenny Johnson, a woman who appears fairly normal, if shy. Matt quickly learns that Jenny is, in fact, a super powerful superhero who is barely in control of her powers or herself. When Matt decides to break off the relationship, in favor of pursuing a relationship with a coworker, he learns that Jenny is emotionally unstable and vindictive. Matt finds himself in an uneasy alliance with a supervillain who is looking to undo Jenny while Jenny attempts to destroy Matt completely.
This sounds like it ought to be funny or, at the very least, it could be humorous. It was only when the movie was over and I had to consider what I was going to write in my review that I had to acknowledge that I had not laughed the entire movie. I had not tried to stifle any laughter, it just turned out the movie was not actually funny. So, I began to consider that this was simply a mislabled movie. When viewed as a science fiction or dramatic concept, the only real problems with the movie are how it is completely predictable and oversimplified on the character front. The resolution of the movie hardly seems like it would fit into the conventions of drama.
So, this is more likely a comedy that simply fell flat on the comedy front. I suppose I ought to have guessed that; Anna Faris is in it. To be fair, this might be the movie I most enjoyed her in so far. I'm guessing this was supposed to be a comedy based on the requisite number of situations involving sex that I suppose were supposed to be funny. When Jenny has mounted Matt for their first time together, her motions cause the bed to ram against the wall violently. It sounds like it should be funny, but it doesn't look funny on screen. Go figure.
So, it's not funny and the characters are all simple and unsurprising. There are plenty of movies like that. The added problem here is that the movie is mostly predictable. The movie is progressing as a pretty standard relationship/super hero movie when the villain is introduced. And almost immediately after that happens, we are treated to his entire backstory. It's almost like writer Don Payne simply read a "How To Write A Superhero Movie" book. It's that standard. I think I've finally talked myself out of recommending this unremarkable movie.
What works in My Super Ex-Girlfriend? Well, the idea is clever. I have to give the creative team credit for that. How does one date a super hero? Better yet, how does one break up with a superhero? These are questions that make for great storytelling. This is not a successful execution of that, though there are moments when it seems like it could be.
What works best here, and why I'm so close to recommending this movie, is the acting. The supporting cast is brilliant in My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Anna Faris gives a supporting performance as Matt's true love interest that justifies her presence in Hollywood and Rainn Wilson reminds us how diverse an actor he can be. Wilson plays an utterly unredeemable chauvinist who is distinctly different from his roles on Six Feet Under (reviewed here!) and The Office. And Eddie Izzard does a great job as Professor Bedlam. That he can act (my experiences with Izzard thus far have been limited to his standup) is a pleasant surprise.
The leads do a great job as well. Luke Wilson does a great job as Matt Saunders. Wilson has an ability to be utterly convincing and serious and his role as Matt extends the quiet brilliance we've seen in Luke Wilson since The Royal Tenenbaums (reviewed here!). He does a good job of convincing the viewer of the reality of the situation and his character's dilemmas. Perhaps Reitman mistook Luke for Owen . . .
It is Uma Thurman who is responsible for keeping much of My Super Ex-Girlfriend plausible. Thurman does a great job presenting two different performances for Jenny and her alter-ego G-Girl. She works well with what she's given in the script and her performance is not the problem with the movie.
In the end, though, the performances are not enough to save this movie. It ought to have either been more funny or made a serious attempt to explore relationships through the conflicts and problems with dating and/or breaking up with a super hero. Either way, this movie ends up being a bit of a disappointment. I don't know who would like it; it's not funny enough to recommend to people looking for a comedy, it's not smart enough to recommend to fans of science fiction or super hero movies. It's just not enough of anything.
For other revenge films, check out my reviews of:
Columbiana
Unforgiven
John Tucker Must Die
4.5/10
Check out how this movie stacks up against every other film I have reviewed by visiting my Movie Review Index Page!
© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |
No comments:
Post a Comment