"My Super Ex-Girlfriend" - Powerless to Make Us Laugh by Homer Yen (c) 2006
Guy meets girl. Guy likes girl. Guy beds girl. Guy breaks up with girl. Guy has just enraged a neurotic Superhero. Revenge on a super level ensues.
On the surface, this seems like a great and promising premise. Oh, the manner of revenge that could be inflicted. Perhaps he could break into an uncontrollable sweat during a critical client presentation. Perhaps he could awaken on the top of the Empire State Building and have to climb his way down. Perhaps he could be dropped off in a jungle of cannibals. You can insert whatever ideas you have. Whatever it is though, I'm sure that it would be funnier than what we have here.
I'm not sure what happened. But creative storytelling took a break during the making of this film. "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" doesn't have the power to make us laugh.
The film is about genial, nice-guy Matt (Luke Wilson) who meets bookish-cute Jenny (Uma Thurman). They are attracted to each other from the get-go. Jenny has a few secrets. For starter's, she's really G-Girl, the city's superhero! And she's super-needy. And she's super-neurotic. Other than a modest desire to help those in need, she really desires a boyfriend. Maybe her super-biological clock is ticking.
As G-Girl, she's really super. She has the kind of powers that could gain her membership into the Justice League of America. There are some interesting storytelling possibilities here. For example, because G-Girl is a superbabe, you would think that it'd be really easy for her to score a date. But wouldn't it be really amusing if she couldn't turn mens' heads and had to use her superpowers to get noticed?
Instead, she's kind of a vindictive psychopath. If jilted, she'll use her laser beam vision to carve out humiliating phrases on your forehead and launch you across the room simply by exhaling. This isn't a good role-model for the kids.
The real kryptonite of the film is the laid-back-but-seemingly-on-the-verge-of-a-good-idea Matt. He's kind of a limp counterpart to G-Girl's persona. I think the term is wet noodle. He never fights back. So, instead of rooting for him, we kind of pity him. Perhaps a different actor in the lead would've been better. It requires more physical comedy. Wasn't Jim Carrey available? Even Jackie Chan would have done well. Heck, Adam Sandler could've worked. But while Luke Wilson is a likeable guy, he's can't provide any kind of counterpunch when standing next to the statuesque and voluptuous Uma Thurman.
The comedy is terribly subdued. There's a mildly funny scene where Jenny meets Matt's mousy-yet-attractive co-worker, Hannah (Anna Farris) over dinner. During their meeting, an errant missile is on course to hit the city. Matt coaxes Jenny to turn into G-girl and to save the day. But she's the jealous type and would rather busy herself getting to know Hannah. Apparently, G-Girl was absent from school that day when they taught superheroes about great powers and great responsibility. I'm siding with Matt on this one. Here's a "Girlfriend" that you should dump.
Grade: C- S: 1 out of 3 L: 1 out of 3 V: 1 out of 3
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