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.
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.
– Nathan Rabin,
AV Club,
12 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:
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:
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.