Ahhh. The comedic romance movie. It's basically taking the practices most of us know and participate in, in real life, and then establishing a story we can relate with, in an entertaining manner. Making common situations and daily living larger than life, and yes ladies and gents... even funny. There's nothing better than thinking how ridiculous a situation can be, yet at the same time have it completely possible, if all the "strings" of life happened to pull a certain way. There also happens to be something heart warming about watching the story of someone else, and how it all worked out for the best. Especially a romantic one. Essentially, that's what "Life After Ex" from writer, director Jim Fields promises it's potential viewers. A fun ride-along with it's newly single main man - Dylan. We get the full picture of his adult life. From his initial marriage and break-up, to the fallout and aftermath and finally, his steps to find the perfect partner to spend his days with. Along the way we, the viewers, get to see the false starts and pit-falls of the lonely... all the way up to the inevitable conclusion. A new beginning with an established friend. Of sorts. It's all here. The story we know. The situations many of us have faced ourselves, and of course, the generally blown-up comedic aspects many of us add when telling a story ourselves. Well... kind of. You see reader, most of the comedy in "Life After Ex" really isn't all that funny. Or, more to the point... doesn't even exist. Save the actions of our naïve leading man Dylan, being funny simply because of his scripted personality. There really is no comedy in this film. For me anyhow. If I was to place "Life After Ex" into a genre, it would strictly be dramatic. Yes. There are some funny parts in the film. However, I tend to think those particular aspects were unintentional. If you're looking for a Kevin Smith styled comedy, or something like 50 First Dates funny... it's not here. If you're looking for a love story of sorts. Or the story of the underdog, and yes, Dylan is presented as the underdog looking for his perfect mate... this ones for you. This is one of those films you essentially know what's going to happen, yet that's what makes it so entertaining. That familiar story or variation of it that we all love. Not much to write on the technical aspects. For an indie, low budget flick, many of the technical elements are well above the standard fare. The story itself may not be completely unique, yet that's half the charm. As I've wrote above, "Life After Ex" benefits greatly from that familiar element. Like a favorite song playing over and over in your mind. I also appreciated the fact this film, although involving gay men, didn't forget about it's straight viewers. By that I mean the concepts and narrative may have been about a gay couple, or numerous couples in this case, yet anyone will recognize and relate with the story being told. I didn't have to be gay to watch and enjoy this film. I think what I'm trying to say is that this is a story about people. This is a film about relationships, hurt, acceptance and love. These are the core values I took away from this production. However, things were not always perfect. "Life After Ex" did suffer from some scripted performances here and there, but never enough to make me forget the overall story I was being shown. Or to make me want to hit that dreaded "stop" button. As an entire film, Jim fields and his crew have put forth a decent hour and a half of entertainment. As an independent, low budget film, "Life After Ex" is an excellent example of what a good script and some hard work can do. When it was all said and done, I was quite pleased to have enjoyed this film as much as I did. Lord knows, I didn't expect I would. We all strive for perfection and that includes writers, directors, crew and cast members. Sometimes however, it's those imperfect instances that add to the entertainment of a production. The imperfect acting. The odd timing. Kind of makes a film more like real life. "Life After Ex" is not a perfectly original story. It doesn't look like it had a hundred million dollar budget. That's what makes it work. If I hadn't been the reviewer for this movie It's a safe bet I would never have watched it. Now that I have however, I'm glad I didn't miss out.
