Zach Braff and Amanda Peet play Tom and Sofia, a young couple about to welcome their first child into the world. Unfortunately, they're going to need an income very quickly since she's left her job to become a full time mom and he's just lost his job as a chef. So he goes to work with her dad Bob (Charles Grodin) at a wacky advertising agency, run by mellow dude Don Wollebin (Donal Logue). Almost immediately he realizes he has an enemy in his new supervisor, Chip Sanders (Jason Bateman), a paraplegic who has designs on Sofia (with whom he once had a sexual fling).This is one of those cases of solid performers bringing life to less than stellar material. It's all pleasant enough, even in its unrated incarnation (it's never really that nasty or raunchy), but it's also patently predictable. At best, it may induce some smiles, but it never does produce belly laughs. It creates some very mild chuckles with the way it takes jabs at modern motherhood and Toms' new workplace, but doesn't ever kick into a high gear. It's up to the actors to sell it, and they do, up to a point. The stars are likable, as are their characters, and you can't help but feel some sympathy towards Tom as he tries to expose a physically disabled person as being a scumbag - which, of course, makes HIM look bad.Lots of familiar faces here: Mia Farrow (as Sofias' mom), Fred Armisen, Bob Stephenson, Josh Charles, Marin Hinkle, Paul Rudd, Robert John Burke, Romany Malco, Amy Adams, John Benjamin Hickey. Lucian Maisel is appealing as neighborhood kid Wesley, whose talent for stuffing whole burgers into his mouth is exploited by Tom. It's especially nice to see Grodin again, as at this time he hadn't been in a feature film for 13 years. His son Nick plays the small role of Summers."Fast Track" a.k.a. "The Ex" is the kind of thing most people would probably watch once and then forget.Five out of 10.

The Ex (2006): Dir: Jesse Peretz / Cast: Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Jason Bateman, Charles Grodin, Mia Farrow: Comedy about difficulties. Here is a comedy that some may relate to for it hits a raw nerve. It stars Zach Braff who loses his chef job and reduced to working for his father-in-law. To complicate matters he is supervised by his wife's wheelchair bound high school boyfriend. Background setup followed by typical cat and mouse schemes between the two competing males until reaching a conclusion of fair consequence. Director Jesse Peretz fails to establish humour. Two scenes involve pointless insults or profanities. Braff and Amanda Peet play out their roles with appeal. Braff in particular must deal with the threat without coming up on the losing end. Peet is reminded of her past but naïve to the intentions of her ex. Jason Bateman plays the scheming ex to a tee. It is the most interesting role in the film and Bateman plays off innocence and deceit expertly with great consequential payoff. Charles Grodin plays Peet's father that is mainly defined by random profanity but he sure steals the moment. Mia Farrow plays the mother, and while she worked well with Grodin in Rosemary's Baby, they are not interesting here. The humour misfires and the sets are cheap but male viewers may draw on realities. Theme regards defending your own from predators. Score: 5 ½ / 10

This film is about a chef who lost his job. He has to go back to his wife's hometown to work with his father in law, where things do not work out his way."The Ex" is well written, as it highlights Chip Sanders' games very well, and portrays Tom Reilly's suffering in amazing detail. As Tom Reilly's frustration and helplessness unfold, I find myself having great sympathy for him. His character is sculpted in such an engaging manner, that I really hope that he will win the war. Jason Bateman is great in his role as an innocent looking sociopath, he helps to make the film work despite his limited screen time.I find "The Ex" very funny, there is not even a minute of boredom. It's a very enjoyable watch, and I recommend it to anyone.

This movie, without any exceptions really, gets steadily worse and worse until the point it becomes simply tedious to watch and frankly insulting. The clichés rattle out thick and fast, the predictability is so straightforward you don't even feel good when you get it right 10 out of 10 times and the character decisions are so ridiculous you'd be let down if you saw them on a nickelodeon show for 5 year olds.The saving grace is certainly Zach Braff, who we've learnt from Graden Sate and quite a few occasions in Scrubs, has a great ability to serious things up brilliantly whilst still having us consistently at fits at his antics and excellent line delivery. He can make the most straightforward line seem absolutely hilarious, Scriptwriters must love him. He has few chances to shine on this occasion but the chances he gets he ceases hole-heartedly. Amanda Peet and Jason Bateman were less than impressive and everyone else was just plain awful. It wasn't their fault mind you. They were given next to nothing to work realistically with.It can be tricky with these sorts of movies to keep the humor up and the story believable so the odd slip up is more than excusable. But not to this extent and particularly not when it's not even that funny. Braff fans are the only ones who will benefit from this movie and even they may feel slightly let down. Everyone else would be well advised to avoid at all costs.