My Super Ex-Girlfriend

I just got back on Netflix after having taken a year break from a steady stream of movies which I just couldn't handle, and unfortunately started it off with this disaster. Mind you, I'm not entirely certain why I decided I wanted to see it. I never thought it looked good from the trailers, and the presence of Rainn Wilson (the lovably malicious Dwight from The Office) and Anna Faris (the vacuous and bubbly starlet from Lost in Translation) were the only factors in my even remembering that it existed.

Ten years ago Marvel comics released Marvels to much acclaim. It's premise was genius; the history of the Marvel comics universe as told by a newspaper reporter who experienced these magnificent events as normal human observer. My Super Ex-Girlfriend somewhat follows this point of view, showing us a world in which a powerful superhero exists and giving us a story of what it would be like for an average Joe to date her. What would it be like to try and have a nice dinner with your girlfriend only to be interrupted by a stray missile headed for the city? And worse, what would it be like to have to break up with her?

Had this been a drama, the setup might have worked. As it stands, though, each character is a shallow caricature. Uma Thurman (or G Girl, a name given no origin or meaning throughout the movie) is possessive, jealous, and needy to the nth degree, and acts suprisingly reckless for a super hero throughout the film. Wilson is a bland nice guy that can't believe his luck when her secret alter ego shows interest in him. It's the nice guy in him that causes the trouble as he sticks around for a little longer than he should because he doesn't want to be a jerk, and then it's too late.

What could have been a very hilarious send up of Fatal Attraction instead turns into an exercise in over the top scripting. G Girl comes up with more and more inventive ways to tormet Wilson, up to and including throwing a live shark at him through a window, instead of playing the scorned lover who can't face reality. There are some amusing moments provided by the aforementioned Wilson (though his horny sidekick schtick wears thin quickly), but overall this just isn't worth it. Ivan Reitman can, and should, do better.