cv501_12675.txt

synopsis : easily-angered , chainsmoking architect david encounters his homicidal first wife diedre five years after their divorce . 
diedre easily cons david's not-so-bright new wife molly into believing she's a child psychologist so that she can influence molly and david's quick-tempered son , michael . 
diedre , at the same time , murders a bunch of people . 
comments : the ex is a very bad movie . 
i haven't seen a turkey of this magnitude in quite a while . 
i kept vacillating , however , between giving the ex one star for its sheer awfulness and three stars for its campy humor ( ultimately , i decided to split the difference and give it two stars ) . 
as summarized briefly in the synopsis , this is yet another spurned-psycho-lover-gets-her-revenge type movie . 
i'm not sure how many films have been produced since fatal attraction which use this tired storyline , but it seems like 10 , 000 , 000 , 000 . 
the ex , however , though following many of the standard cliches of this thriller subgenre , differs slightly from the norm in that , at least , it doesn't take itself too seriously like so many other duds do ( malicious and stalked are two examples which come to mind ) . 
those involved in the movie realize they're in a turkey , apparently , and turn in hammy performances which compliment the ludicrous dialogue contained within the script . 
the ex's storyline , as i said , incorporates many cliches predominant in films of its nature ; however , the plot is so overwrought and unbelievable that , after a while , the viewer must accept that logic does not operate in the realm of the movie . 
diedre , david's first wife , kills and kills and kills , for example , without ever having to worry about police investigations and the like ( it's not as though she's bright enough not to leave fingerprints at the scene of the crime ) . 
david and his new wife molly have an incredibly difficult time understanding why michael , their son , has emotional problems , specifically his inability to control his anger . 
though david smokes like tomorrow will never come and blows up at people every other minute in the movie , the connection between him and his son is not made . 
molly is easily swayed by diedre into believing she's a child psychologist and allows the demented woman to spend time with her son . 
time and time again , things do not add up in this movie . 
if a viewer can't accept this fact , then he will definately not like the ex . 
if , on the other hand , he can appreciate the movie for its campiness , then he'll probably like it much better . 
i don't mean to necessarily suggest , however , that the ex is a memorable exercise in camp . 
even when viewed from an it's-so-bad-it's-good angle , this movie isn't all that successful . 
the ex does have its moments , though , almost all of which involve yancy butler ( the psychotic diedre ) and nick mancuso ( david ) . 
these two actors turn in decidedly hammy performances which , oftentimes , elicit chuckles from the audience . 
the truly awful lines written for them help this humor along . 
butler gets the larger portion of bad dialogue ; every time her character kills someone , she has a punchline that's unbelievably inane . 
when she murders a tenant of an apartment she wishes to use to spy on david , for example , diedre whacks the elderly lady with a crowbar and states " i'm so sorry , your lease is terminated . " 
or how about when diedre takes out her therapist in another ridiculous scene ? 
 ( diedre's therapist wishes to have her recommitted , so she decides to visit diedre , alone , in her new apartment -- never realizing , of course , that it's not her's . 
therapists typically are catatonically brain-dead in these movies ) . 
having successfully snuffed the woman out , diedre looks at the body and says : " what was it that you always said to me at the end of each session , dr . jones ? 
oh , that's right . 
'i'm sorry , but your time is up ! ' " 
this is what passes for humor in the film . 
the audience doesn't necessarily laugh but groan ( the type of groan that suggests the audience can't believe they're watching this crap -- although watching it they are ) . 
nick mancuso's chainsmoking , nervous-wreck character does not have the cheesy lines that butler's character delivers , but his ridiculously overdone performance provides for some better comic relief . 
in between drags off his cigarette , for instance , in one of the movie's best scenes , david tries to explain to his lawyer what a creep his ex-wife is . 
in exaggerated exasperation , he nearly shouts " the woman is a cuckoo-bird ! " 
 ( trust me , it is funny in context . ) 
and so , the movie continues until its painfully obvious conclusion . 
i won't reveal the ending specifically ( though anyone remotely familiar with thrillers of this type could probably guess the ending just from this film review ) , but i will say that the ex has one of the biggest fire hazards appearing recently in film . 
molly and david own a cabin that becomes engulfed by flames in approximately three seconds ! 
molly , at one point in the film , not-so-brilliantly observes , after discovering diedre has moved into an apartment across from her family's to spy upon them , that " she's crazy . " 
you'd be pretty crazy too if you'd rented this turkey . 
i'd avoid it unless it's on tv and you come across it . 
if you do , you may want to watch it , groan at the bad punchlines and stupid plot , and feel good that you didn't spend money renting it .