When his lawyer wife, Sofia, becomes pregnant, chronic underachiever Tom Reilly must take a job at his father-in-law's advertising firm. Tom has to adjust to the demands of a very high-powered job, and he finds himself in an increasingly hostile office rivalry with Chip, Sofia's paraplegic former lover.
Though Bateman rolls through the film with sly comic skill, the whole exercise seems half-baked -- a high concept and some funny gags that do not a great comedy make.
– Tom Beer,
Time Out New York,
19 May 2007
rotten:
Braff has a natural likability, but the screenplay gives him so many stupid, far-fetched and annoying things to do that The Ex loses credibility quickly.
– Hap Erstein,
Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
19 May 2007
rotten:
What if Zach Braff acted in one more quarter-life-crisis movie, and instead of Sundance it went straight to video? If only that's what had happened to The Ex.
– Gregory Kirschling,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 May 2007
rotten:
It's good to have Grodin back onscreen after an extended absence; it's just a shame it has to be in this dreary graveyard of wasted opportunities.