Burying the Ex (2015)
Staci Layne Wilson
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Starring Anton Yelchin, Ashley Greene, Alexandra Daddario
Directed by Joe Dante
Burying the Ex is a zom-rom-com – it is what it is so don’t look any deeper than the surface, and you will be just fine. Deftly directed by Joe Dante, based on a cute if clunky screenplay by Alan Trezza (which grew from his short film of the same name), this B-grade flick focuses on the love triangle among Max (Yelchin), his new lady, Olivia (Daddario), and his dead girlfriend, Evelyn (Greene).
Max is a nerd who works in a little shop of horrors that sells all kinds of spooky novelties and horror film memorabilia. He lives and breathes cinematic vampires, werewolves, and zombies.
His hot but overbearing live-in girlfriend, Evelyn, is his polar opposite: She’s a vegan blogger (the fact she’s a blogger is driven home repeatedly) who hates everything Max loves. But did I mention she’s really, really hot?
Evelyn turns cold once Max meets kindred spirit Olivia… and colder still when she dies and is buried six feet under. Still, that doesn’t stop her from loving Max and wanting to put an end to his budding relationship with Olivia. In the mix is Max’s horny, harebrained half-brother, Travis (Oliver Cooper). As Travis tries – and fails – to help Max sort out his sordid love life, the comedy cranks up to a screwball 10.
A series of silly events follows, mainly involving Max trying to keep Evelyn and Olivia from finding out about the other. Sometimes the repartee is clever, and sometimes it’s clichéd. But for true fans of the genre, the clichés are fun, and one can see Dante’s stamp as the director. (For instance, there’s a Dick Miller cameo.) Burying the Ex feels like a cross between Seth Grahame-Smith’s book How To Survive a Horror Movie and an episode of “Reaper.”
Burying the Ex is a fun little romp, something you can have on in the background while doing your household chores… or blogging… and you won’t miss a thing. It’s easy to like and quick to flee the memory.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
