mysuperexgirlfriend

THE SYNOPSIS

Meet Matt Saunders (L. Wilson)--a perfectly ordinary, professional, amiable New Yorker who meets Jenny (Thurman) on a train and hooks up for a date. Matt doesn’t know that Jenny is really G-Girl, a superhero!

Dinner leads to dates, dates leads to sex (albeit bed-crashing, wall-cracking coitus) and a deep, festering neediness on Jenny’s part. What to do? According to Matt’s horndog friend/co-worker Vincent (R. Wilson)--break up with her!

When Matt does, Jenny freaks and begins wreaking havoc on him in the most frightening ways: like punching a huge hole in his ceiling; or having his car placed into outer space! Naturally, the claws come out when Jenny catches her ex in bed with his co-worker, Hannah (Faris). The rub here is that Matt really has feeling for her, as she does him.

Jenny’s kryptonite appears in the form of the fey Professor Bedlam (Izzard)--who grew up with Jenny and secretly loved her before she was transformed into G-Girl. With a piece of the meteorite that created her alter-ego, Bedlam plans on neutralizing G-Girl’s powers. To do so, he and his goons “recruit” Matt into ambushing her.

Will it work? Or does it all backfire? And will Vincent ever hook up with the hot bartender at the local watering hole--or will she just pour another drink on him?

THE CRITIQUE

It must’ve sounded good on paper. Hell, it even looked amusing in the trailers. But one thing is for certain: MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND is no super feat of comedy.

Naturally, part of the problem lies within the pages of the script, as written by Don Payne (TV’s The Simpsons). While the idea of mixing Fatal Attraction with a healthy dose of Wonder Woman sounds like a creative idea, it all left me feeling like “OK, she’s a jilted superhero...and?” Point being: a one-note concept is just that...one note! That and $2.00 will get you a ride on the subway.

I shouldn’t be too hard on the movie, as it does have many amusing moments and a game cast. Leads Uma Thurman and nice-guy actor Luke Wilson have a ball in with the roles. Supporting cast, including villain Eddie Izzard (totally cool), Rainn Wilson (amusing) and Anna Faris (totally dippy, but lovable and cute) give the proceedings a robust quality that shroud the plotting’s shortcomings.

The fact that MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND was directed by one of the great comedic helmers, Ivan Reitman, says to me that he either really needs the cash, or really liked the material. I’m going to opt for the latter. Under his direction, the movie moves along, looks great (more on that in a moment) and runs its course. But, it’s not up to Reitman’s standards (don’t forget, kiddies, he directed such classics as Stripes, Ghostbusters and Twins).

The one place where the movie earns it celluloid stamp-of-approval is in the glossy, widescreen lensing, courtesy of veteran cinematographer Don Burgess (Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines/Spider-Man/Forrest Gump). Thanks to his work, everyone looks good and New York City looks magical (much like the terrific lensing in The Devil Wears Prada).

Other tech credits (editing, production design, score, fashionista costume design, cool FX, etc.) are solid. Best of all: a movie that takes place in NYC that was actually shot in NYC!

THE BOTTOM LINE

An amusing spin on the superhero fable, with a game cast and pedigreed production talent. Too bad the movie is just plain mediocre. Ivan Reitman hasn’t been knocking them out of the ballpark lately, but still has some mustard left in him. Here’s hoping that he finds comedic mojo in future projects.

As it is, MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND is a perfect cautionary tale for men who date. Believe me, I’ve broken up with girls who didn’t have super-powers--but they sure as hell wreaked havoc in my life anyway!

CAST: Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson, Anna Faris, Rainn Wilson, Eddie Izzard, Wanda Sykes

CREDITS: Director: Ivan Reitman; Screenwriter: Don Payne; Producers: Gavin Polone & Arnon Milchan; Director of Photography: Don Burgess; Production Designer: Jane Musky; Costume Designer: Laura Jean Shannon; Editors: Sheldon Kahn & Wendy Green Bricmont; Music: Teddy Castellucci

AC/AL 2006 95m ENGLISH
BN/V