My Super Ex-Girlfriend

A good comedy needs a good premise. And good premises are hard to come by. Just following the misadventures of the unluckiest guy in the world doesn’t cut it. Now a movie like Liar, Liar where Jim Carrey plays a slick lawyer who can’t lie for 24 hours is an interesting and entertaining premise, which is why it’s one of my favourite comedies of all time. Director Ivan Reitman has a great concept with My Super Ex-Girlfriend; an average guy tries to get out of a relationship with a needy superhero, and trouble ensues. And while I loved the concept, I was hoping that the film would be a lot funnier than it was. To look back at his previous efforts, I shouldn’t be too surprised to see this coming from Ivan Reitman. This director started his career off strong with Meatballs, Stripes and Ghostbusters, but that was mostly due to the comic stylings of Bill Murray. He directed Twins, a great concept with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito playing identical twins but it was a little light on the laughs. He reunited this duo for Junior, which had an interesting concept of Arnold being the first pregnant man, but the humour was practically non-existent. To be fair, he did direct Dave, which has Kevin Kline impersonating the president, which I did like but it still doesn’t have the comedic juice of fresh films like Liar, Liar, Bruce Almighty, or Groundhog Day. I guess with My Super Ex-Girlfriend, I expected a bit more than I was given.

Not to say the film wasn’t funny. I did find myself laughing regularly. Although, most of the laughs came from the cliché best friend role played by Rainn Wilson (The Office, Sahara). Luke Wilson and Uma Thurman do a fine job, but nothing really spectacular. Anna Faris is cute and funny, like usual. (Who would have thought this Scary Movie actress would get this popular?) I felt Wanda Sykes was wasted in this film with the very small role of accusing Luke Wilson of sexual harassment. In terms of the concept, I think the film would be a lot better if Luke Wilson’s character did not know Uma Thurman was a superhero until after he broke up with her. They make it seem that way in the trailer but I found it a letdown that he found out about her powers a lot sooner. I would rather he be clueless and then be shocked once she flies out of his apartment. In any case, I think My Super Ex-Girlfriend is okay for a rental, if you’re looking for something light and fluffy on a Saturday night.