Ex, The

Village Voice Scott Foundas

The movie is Bateman's to steal, however, which he does early and often.

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

Charles Grodin, in his first film in a dozen years, provides some of the best moments as Sofia's dad, while Mia Farrow is kind of creepy as her mom.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Some of the most tasteless and un-PC comedy in the film is also the funniest - Farrelly Brothers-style humor that plays off the Bateman character's physical limitations.

Film Threat Stina Chyn

Peretz's film continuously subverts the audience's expectations of what should likely happen given genre conventions.

Austin Chronicle Steve Davis

Still, The Ex is more appealing and less dumb than most movies that pass as comedy today, so any criticisms of its shortcomings need to account for that big-picture perspective. Indeed, there are worse ways to spend an hour-and-a-half.

Premiere Ethan Alter

The actor that comes off the best in The Ex is Grodin, who spouts some hilariously cranky one-liners that sound too off-the-cuff to be scripted.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

Braff and Bateman have a good, darkly comic chemistry, but there aren't nearly enough moments like the brutally funny, "Murderball"-style wheelchair basketball game to sustain the entire film.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

If you want a relationship comedy that feels like last year's stuff, doesn't go far enough in any direction and is made watchable only by an overqualified ensemble, there's The Ex.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The movie is populated by dislikeable individuals doing unpleasant things but isn't redeemed by the vein of viciously black comedy that made "The War of the Roses" and "Bad Santa" such devilish pleasures.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

The best jokes in this scattershot screwball satire of job insecurity, upward mobility, political correctness and yuppie marital tensions have claws that leave scratches.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

The resulting hodgepodge has the feel of filmmaking by committee, the look of last-minute reshoots and the whiff of desperation. Not even Braff's cartoonish smirk is distracting enough to hide that.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

For a comedy, it's not really funny.

Boston Globe Janice Page

The next time Grodin attempts a comeback, it would be so great if he avoids movies where he might be upstaged by a sandwich stunt.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Though there are giggles here and there, the film is inexcusably unfunny.

USA Today Claudia Puig

It's a pretty twisted concept, bordering on offensive. But mostly it's just not funny.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

By the end, it doesn't even have the courage of its political incorrectness.

Variety Peter Debruge

A half-baked comedy torn between sincere emotion and over-the-top outrageousness.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

Even likable star Zach Braff can't salvage this clunker.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The latest catastrophe from the Weinstein Co.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

The Ex isn't painful, horrible or despicable, but it is an amazing mess.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

It never comes close to being funny.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

Originally titled "Fast Track" when it was scheduled to open last January, neither the wait nor the new title makes it worthwhile. The only fast track here is the one to home video.

Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling

A painful comedy that reduces the "Garden State" star to pratfalls while many comic A-teamers around him (including Paul Rudd and Amy Adams) play idiots.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A stunningly insipid romance, marks an all-time low for actor Zach Braff -- his "Gigli," if you will.