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G-Girl takes Matt for an unscheduled flight high above New York City

Mostly, though, it's the cast that sells this thing. Luke Wilson mostly plays it straight, and he proves to be just as charming and lovably laid back as brother Owen; he's a natural as a leading man. Uma Thurman has been doing more and more comedic work in recent years, and it suits her well; here she takes a neurotic and controlling character and actually makes her easy to like. Wanda Sykes and Eddie Izzard get mixed results in supporting roles; Sykes is annoying, but Izzard is note-perfect, leaving a strong impression despite having little screen time. Likewise, Rainn Wilson alternates between funny and repugnant as Matt's sex-crazed guy friend. And Anna Faris is beautiful and intelligent as Matt's friend/crush Hannah; she deserves a chance to play the leading lady herself.

The movie's ending—like the rest of the film—somehow pulls off the unusual feat of being surprising without being particularly unconventional; it doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does manage to come across as fresh rather than predictable, and it'll please moviegoers of both genders. That's almost unheard of with this particular genre, meaning that, even if it falls slightly short of super, Ex-Girlfriend is a film that's well worth having around.

1. What kind of attitude does the film take toward dating and relationships? Toward sex? Toward breaking up?
   
   
2. Do you think Matt treats Jenny appropriately? Why or why not?
   
   
3. Does Jenny treat Matt appropriately—especially after the break-up? Why or why not?
   
   
4. What do we learn about Jenny and Dr. Bedlam through the story of how Jenny got her superpowers, and how she subsequently treated him?

My Super Ex-Girlfriend is rated PG-13 for sexual content, crude humor, language, and brief nudity. The most problematic element of the film is the very casual view it takes toward sex. The sexual content and crude humor mostly pertain to a couple of non-explicit scenes in which sleeping with a superhero turns out to be more than Matt bargained for—i.e., his bed is broken, etc. Violence is all very cartoony and non-graphic, and the brief nudity is a brief scene of rear male nudity.

Photos © Copyright 20th Century Fox

© Josh Hurst 2006, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

First, Matt breaks up with his girlfriend. Then, Jenny decides to break apart Matt's whole life. Matt knows she's a strong-willed woman. He just doesn't know how strong. And when he starts romancing his co-worker Hannah, Jenny focuses all her powers—which turn out to be super-powers—to wreak havoc.

Break-ups are always messy. But this one is so unpleasant that critics are hoping audiences dump My Super Ex-Girlfriend and move on to other affairs.

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) says, "Ivan Reitman directs with the requisite light touch, the colorful film looks good, and the leads are quite engaging (Thurman and Wilson being likable and accomplished farceurs), but too much of Don Payne's dialogue is witless, and many of the gags are needlessly vulgar, with the situations less genuinely funny than they could have been."

Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) says, "If only Reitman (and the film's screenwriters) could have resisted the temptation to add so much sexual content, from the characters' proclivity for jumping in bed together to nonstop innuendo. Indeed, the sheer volume of sexual content in this film, while not R-rated, is still overwhelming."

Mainstream critics are super-disappointed.

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