Genre: Comedy
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson, Anna Faris, Rainn Wilson, Eddie Izzard
RunTime: 1 hr 36 mins
Released By: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG

Opening Day: 9 August 2006

Synopsis :

Everyone’s had a painful parting of the ways with a romantic partner. We pick up the pieces and move on. But for one New York guy, it’s not going to be so easy. When he breaks up with his girlfriend, he discovers his ex is actually the reluctant superhero, G-Girl. A scorned woman, she unleashes her super powers to humiliate and torment him. MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND stars Uma Thurman as Jenny Johnson, aka G-Girl and Luke Wilson as Matt Saunders, her beleaguered boyfriend. Anna Faris is Hannah, Matt's co-worker. Rainn Wilson is Vaughn, Matt's best friend and Eddie Izzard is Professor Bedlam, G-Girl’s arch nemesis.

Movie Review:

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and this takes on an almost literal meaning when the woman is one super hero by the name of G-Girl/Jenny Johnson (portrayed by the beautiful Uma Thurman). As Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson), your normal Average Joe finds this truth out the hard way after being driven nearly insane by her neediness. He dumps her for an Average Jane from the office, Hannah (played by Scary Movie 3 and 4’s Anna Faris), who although is ordinary, is definitely much more mentally adjusted compared to the controlling, manipulative and insanely jealous Jenny.

Unlike your regular run-of-the-mill superhero, G-Girl doesn’t always want to do the right thing. So when her hearts get broken, she goes all out on a rampage to make life very difficult for Matt. Including one scene where she throws a shark through Hannah’s apartment window in an attempt to get Matt eaten by it.

Forced with no other choice, Matt secretly goes into partnership with G-Girl’s nemesis, Bedlam (Eddie Izzard) to rid her of her super powers. Of course, things don’t go exactly as planned and total chaos ensues soon after.

On the casting front, none of the actors really shine through in this movie, not even the lovely Uma. Despite her best efforts at being the quirky and lonely single woman who is even lonelier than a normal one because of her super powers, she appears to be more like an amusing loony cartoon character who has a really bad case of PMS, rather than an emotionally real character that the audience can somewhat understand and sympathize with.

Ultimately, it can be said that the entire concept of My Super Ex-Girlfriend has all the makings of being a great date movie. With a clever switch in the gender roles of Jenny Johnson in the superhero shoes and Matt Saunders in the Lois Lane role, this promises to be something different, interesting and charmingly funny compared to all the other tiresome date movies out there. Especially since he does dumps her for an Average Jane!

Even with its shortcomings, when one looks on the whole, this movie does have its moments. Just not enough of them to make it one of those really good romantic comedies that sets it apart from its peers. Sad to say, writer Don Payne (The Simpsons) and director Ivan Reitman, whose previous films include Kindergarten Cop and Evolution, have taken this superhero romantic comedy and kicks it off to a good start and hilarious middle but then somehow lets the tale loose its punch and gets out of hand as it reaches the finish line, letting things kind of fall just slightly short of its full potential.

Still, it is worth a go if you’re in a mode of Superman/X-Men/Spiderman/Batman withdrawal and in dire need of a good case of the chuckles. This movie should do the trick and watching Uma zip around in cute little super hero outfits should be a plus factor for the guys. For the ladies, watch out for Luke Wilson’s bare butt in one scene if the plot of the movie doesn’t do enough to captivate and excite you.

Movie Rating:

(A superhero romantic comedy that could have been one of those really good date movies had the story and characters packed just a little more punch)

Review by Jolene Tan