Even the losers get lucky sometimes

My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006)
20th Century Fox presents an Ivan Reitman film, starring Luke Wilson and Uma Thurman. Written by Don Payne. 95m. PG-13 for sexual content, crude humor, language and brief nudity.

2 stars

We should pity superheroes.

Fearing repercussions from their archenemies, superheroes have a manic compulsion to mask their true identities. Their alter-egos are often subdued versions of their genuine personas, a deliberate attempt to temper suspicions about their super-secrets. They stay shrouded in the background, while they yearn for attention from unrequited crushes.

These peculiarities are not exactly the ideal groundwork for that perfect Match.com profile.

When she’s not saving the five boroughs from its own calamitous demise, G-Girl (Uma Thurman) is Jenny Johnson, a dowdy assistant at a Manhattan art gallery. Many a fantasy film has propagated the notion of a male superhero lusting after an unattainable female companion. The tables are turned in “My Super Ex-Girlfriend,” where Jenny is both the superhero and the unfeasible object of desire.

Not that any of this stops Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson), a small fry from the development sector, who invokes his nerdy charm to score a date with Jenny. While years of practice allow her to easily thwart evil at every turn, our heroine is decidedly rustier on the dating scene.

Jenny habitually overanalyzes the minuteness of Matt’s behaviors, is clingy immediately, and acts possessive and jealous of his attention. Essentially, she’s the Alex Forrest of superheroes, without the knife-wielding psychosis.

Lest the film be inappropriately named, Matt breaks things off his needy companion almost immediately. Ivan Reitman, who has made a career directing inelegant comedies about misfits, ensures this by-the-numbers plot at least has a couple of chuckles thrown in to keep audiences seated and satiated.

The real attraction is a Wilson, but not the one whose name takes first-billing on the marquee. Rainn Wilson (no apparent relationship to the brothers Owen and Luke) has been stealing scenes for years while playing kooky characters on “Six Feet Under” and “The Office.” His geeky persona and deadpan delivery are perfect for the sidekick role in this film.

Wilson is the only actor to treat his character as if it isn’t hopelessly consigned to the superhero/screwball comedy formula; his haughty brush-off of the forces of good and evil battling around him, for example, are the foundations for the film’s best scenes.

It’s a freedom I wish the film had granted to Eddie Izzard, a one-man comedy delight, and Wanda Sykes, a bombastic comedienne, who are both unfairly chained to the plot’s contrivances. Although Izzard fancies himself as Professor Bedlam, the character holds no superpowers (unless you consider an unchecked obsession with Jenny to be a sign of a higher life form). Sykes, meanwhile, is relegated to a couple dreary stabs at a sexual harassment joke that wouldn’t have even been funny during Monicagate.

Since romantic comedies often hinge on cosmic balancing, Anna Faris is introduced as Matt’s semblant soul mate – although we conclude this long before the plot allows it to be possible.

With Faris in the mix, the plot is fertile with superhero revenge angles. There is little so simultaneously chilling and humorous as a live shark being utilized as a projectile or a sedan that has been re-parked amongst the constellations. With unchecked power, Jenny can redefine the audience’s understanding of nasty breakups.

While I don’t recommend that you rush out to see “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” on the big screen, I’ll admit it made for enjoyable counter-programming to last month’s “Superman Returns.” After being force fed the idea that with great power comes a great burden, it’s refreshing to find a superhero film that isn’t taking itself anywhere near that seriously.