Movie Report: My Super Ex-Girlfriend


[SPOILER WARNING]

In my never-ending quest to find interesting super-powered characters and stories, I watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend on Netflix. Matt (Luke Wilson) is an extremely ordinary but sweet guy who asks out Jenny Johnson (Uma Thurman), a deliberately nondescript total stranger. They hit it off pretty well, and after a few dates she reveals her big secret to him: she is, in reality, G-Girl the superheroine. G-Girl's powers include flight, super-speed, super-strength, and laser vision, and she routinely saves the citizens of New York from calamity.

Matt really likes the idea of dating Jenny/G-Girl, but the reality isn't so great: she's jealous, insecure, and controlling. He breaks up with her. Bad move. Hell hath no fury like a superheroine with laser vision scorned, and Jenny/G-Girl proceeds to make Matt's life unbearable. Hijinks ensue. What is one to do when one has pissed off the most powerful being on earth?

Also in Matt's life are a woman from the office whom he realizes he really loves, a "friend" whose advice is purely carnal, and G-Girl's arch-nemesis, Professor Bedlam. There's a sweet sequence about G-Girl's origin that suggests that her and Bedlam's story might be more interesting than this one.

This movie is pretty funny. There are some great lines in it, and it definitely satirizes many common superhero situations well. But there are some real thud moments, too. For example, the idea of sex with someone who has super-strength is a little daunting, and you can probably see how it might be funny, but not to the point of three (count 'em) extended scenes about that one joke. Also, about two-thirds of the way along, I found myself mentally rewriting what Matt should be doing, which is never a good sign. However, the actual resolution is satisfying and clever.

There is, of course, an Uma Thurman cult, but I am not one of its devotees. I’m not even sure she's actually attractive, although I do understand I'm supposed to think so. So, believe me when I say that she is really good as both dishwater-dull Jenny, and especially as glowing, larger-than-life G-Girl. Her expressions as she tries to balance her tottery love life with super responsibilities are great. She also really projects the confidence that such a super-being would have. I would enjoy seeing her in similar roles, not that that's likely.

Bottom line: recommended if you're also a superhero junkie or if you're in the mood for a moderately funny comedy.

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