Burying the Ex
Director: Joe Dante
Writer: Alan Trezza
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Ashley Greene, Alexandra Daddario, Oliver Cooper
Part of: Surprise Movie Y /slash Filmfestival
[Reviews by cornholio and Maynard Morrissey.]

Plot:
Max (Anton Yelchin) has been with Evelyn (Ashley Greene) for a while now and they recently decided to move in together, even though Max is hesitant about his relationship with Evelyn in general: she is vegan and forces him to eat vegan, too; she has no understanding or love for horror movies like Max has; and she hates Max’ half-brother Travis (Oliver Cooper) who regularly uses their apartment to sleep with other women. Generally, Evelyn has a pretty clear idea of who Max is supposed to be and Max is not sure he wants to be that person. When he meets Olivia (Alexandra Daddario) who shares all his interests, it is the last push he needed to finally make up his mind and break up with Evelyn. But before he can do so, Evelyn dies. But just because she’s dead doesn’t mean she’s gone.

Burying the Ex has a nice cast, excellent pacing and some good jokes but above all it is a spectacularly sexist crapfest and it’s not even creative sexist dreck.

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this couple on screen: the sweet guy who doesn’t want to hurt the girl, so he can’t bring himself to break up with her. The controlling girlfriend who is way too eco and takes away the man’s meat (she might as well castrate him while she’s at it) and wants him to become an overachiever while he just wants to watch horror movies/play videogames/smoke weed all day (just not take on too much responsibility, that could be awkward). And it’s a trope I hate with a fiery passion. Caring about the environment is freaking important, don’t belittle it. I have yet to meet a vegan who insists that everybody around them eats vegan, too. And all those controlling girlfriends who are in a relationship with manchildren are probably particularly controlling because they get pushed into the mother role by their partner’s absolute refusal to take any responisbility in their life and not because they absolutely want to control everything their partner does.

But that is not all. Adding insult to injury there is the new girl who shares all the same interests and is easy going and the sex is great and she’s generally perfect, she just isn’t a human being with faults and flaws, she’s only wish fulfillment. (In this case almost but not quite a Manic Pixie Dream Girl). And that is still not all the sexism the movie has to offer, because there is also Travis who sleeps with tons of women (even though he is fat harharhar), but not at his own place (stylishly decorated with bras and tits), in case he can’t get rid of those bitches anymore, who constantly objectifies women and makes it seem like that is the reason he sleeps with so many women: because he just shows them how much he loves them.

And the plot isn’t much better than the characterizations to be honest. I expected – and I would have probably liked the film a little better if it had been that way – that Max would try all kinds of incantations and spells and rituals, trying to get rid of Evelyn and that he only succeeds when he finally breaks up with her, honestly and directly. But it was not to be.

With all of that shit going on, I really couldn’t the good parts of the film: the sweet atmosphere Dante created (that is very much in his style), the few good jokes in between. The nice performances from everybody involved. The good pacing that at least made it feel that it is a short crapfest.

But even though it feels short, it doesn’t change the fact that it is a sexist, misogynist catastrophe.

Summarizing: No.