The Ex (2006 film)

The Ex
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jesse Peretz
Produced by	Anthony Bregman Marc Butan Anne Carey Ted Hope
Written by	David Guion Michael Handelman
Starring	Zach Braff Amanda Peet Jason Bateman Charles Grodin Mia Farrow Donal Logue Amy Poehler Amy Adams Fred Armisen
Music by	Edward Shearmur
Cinematography	Tom Richmond
Edited by	Tricia Cooke
Production company	This is that corporation 2929 Productions
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer The Weinstein Company
Release date	December 2006 (2006-12)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$5,178,640

The Ex is a 2006 comedy film directed by Jesse Peretz and starring Zach Braff, Amanda Peet and Jason Bateman. The film had a wide release planned for January 19, 2007, and then March 9, 2007. It was originally promoted under the working title Fast Track. It was released on May 11, 2007. Co-stars include Charles Grodin (his first film appearance since 1994), Donal Logue and Mia Farrow.

The film generally received negative reviews from critics. It had a gross of $5,178,640.

Living in Manhattan, Tom (Zach Braff) is a cook who has a hard time keeping his job. His wife, Sofia (Amanda Peet), is an attorney. When their first child is born, they agree that she will be a full-time mom and he will work hard to get a promotion. When Tom gets fired after defending his friend Paco (Yul Vazquez), he takes a job in Ohio working at the ad agency where his father-in-law is the assistant director. Tom is assigned to report to Chip (Jason Bateman). Chip is a strict and hard-working wheelchair-using man who is coincidentally Sofia's ex-boyfriend from high school. Chip still carries an obsession with her, so he conspires to make Tom's work life miserable. As Tom's frustrations mount, Chip begins to sway Sofia to his side.

Tom begins to suspect that Chip isn't handicapped at all and goes through his desk. He finds a photo of Chip playing tennis and rushes to his in-laws' house to see his wife and show her the picture. He finds Chip having dinner with Sofia and her parents and holding Tom's child. Tom mercilessly tries to prove that Chip isn't actually paralyzed by dragging him up a flight of stairs and then throws him, expecting him to stand up to prevent falling. Chip doesn't stand up and Tom is humiliated in front of his family. Later, he confronts Chip outside his house and attacks him, where Chip reveals that he really can walk, but can't fight outside of his chair. After sitting back down, Chip beats him severely and reveals that he plans to sleep with Sofia, much to Tom's already-increased rage.