Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

My Super Ex-Girlfriend

(2006)

I guess the best I can say about this is “well-intentioned.” I could say worse, but I won’t bother. Basically, it starts out with a good idea, and then plods its way through every predictable situation a hack writer can think of, totally missing a thousand opportunities. Premise: Who says a superhero needs to be well-adjusted? What if the meteorite bestowing super powers lands on a neurotic, needy, insecure girl? Then your obligatory awkward schlub dates her for a while, realizes he doesn’t love her, and dumps her, only to find out he’s dumped Glenn Close from Fatal Attraction. Luke Wilson as the schlub has some good moments, and there are a few laughs, but only a few. I was struck by how little these things have changed. Except for some tame sex, this might have been made with Jack Lemmon and Doris Day in 1960. There’s the cutesy sound track with pizzicato strings punctuating the dialogue that could have been written by Frank De Vol. There’s slapstick enhanced by CGI SFX. All it really needs is canned laughter to be a sitcom.