February 21, 2025
FILM: EX-HUSBANDS
DIRECTED BY: NOAH PRITZKER
STARRING: GRIFFIN DUNNE, JAMES NORTON, MILES HEIZER
RATING: 2 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There are some films that are well-intentioned but that get muddled in their execution. Ex-Husbands is such a film that would seem to have strived for more than what it ultimately delivers. It stars Griffin Dunne as Peter Pearce who is getting a divorce from his wife Maria played by Rosanna Arquette. Peter’s father Simon (played by comedy legend Richard Benjamin, who is not given nearly enough to do here) had divorced his own wife after a lifetime of marriage several years earlier. The Pearce’s have two adult sons, Nick, who is about to be married and Mickey who has recently come out as gay. From the early scenes until the end, it becomes clear that this is less about “ex-husbands” than about “bummer breakups.” The mood surrounding these men is pretty dour all the way through and the film itself is a bit of a slough.
Simon is the only real “ex-husband” here and it’s not clear if writer/director Noah Pritzker is trying to suggest that he started the other men’s downward slide with relationships or if men just can’t seem to figure out their connections with others, including the members of their own family. Early on, Nick is getting ready to attend his bachelor party in Mexico. For some reason Peter is not invited but he happens to be heading down to the same resort anyway. This leads to bewildering and uncomfortable circumstances that feel woefully underdeveloped. Similarly, Mickey hooks up with a married friend of Nick’s but how it all plays out and the supposed feelings Mickey has for the man are never really expanded upon. Is Prizker suggesting that married men can’t be trusted?
There is a joke mentioned twice in the film about an old couple who are in their 90s and decide to get a divorce. When the lawyer asks why they waited so long they respond, “we were waiting for the kids to die.” I’ve heard this joke MANY times in the past and on its own it’s pretty funny but how it relates to this film is a mystery. Maybe it reflects Simon’s late divorce from his wife. Perhaps adult children can’t handle the challenge of long-term marriages breaking up. I don’t know. It seems randomly placed here. That’s the problem with the film as a whole. Situations seem oddly positioned and underdeveloped.
What is good about the film is the acting. I particularly liked James Norton as Nick and Miles Heizer as Mickey. They have something of a rapport that feels more organic than some of the film’s other relationships. Both actors could easily be front and center in better films. It’s also nice to see Rosanna Arquette as Maria. She’s not featured in many scenes but the ones she is in she handles with skill and naturalism.
I can’t say I understand exactly what Pritzker was going for with Ex-Husbands. It’s not really a film about its title and it doesn’t really go anywhere other than to show that men and their relationships are complicated. I would need something more to truly recommend this one to you.
Ex-Husbands opens this week.
FILM: EX-HUSBANDS
DIRECTED BY: NOAH PRITZKER
STARRING: GRIFFIN DUNNE, JAMES NORTON, MILES HEIZER
RATING: 2 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
There are some films that are well-intentioned but that get muddled in their execution. Ex-Husbands is such a film that would seem to have strived for more than what it ultimately delivers. It stars Griffin Dunne as Peter Pearce who is getting a divorce from his wife Maria played by Rosanna Arquette. Peter’s father Simon (played by comedy legend Richard Benjamin, who is not given nearly enough to do here) had divorced his own wife after a lifetime of marriage several years earlier. The Pearce’s have two adult sons, Nick, who is about to be married and Mickey who has recently come out as gay. From the early scenes until the end, it becomes clear that this is less about “ex-husbands” than about “bummer breakups.” The mood surrounding these men is pretty dour all the way through and the film itself is a bit of a slough.
Simon is the only real “ex-husband” here and it’s not clear if writer/director Noah Pritzker is trying to suggest that he started the other men’s downward slide with relationships or if men just can’t seem to figure out their connections with others, including the members of their own family. Early on, Nick is getting ready to attend his bachelor party in Mexico. For some reason Peter is not invited but he happens to be heading down to the same resort anyway. This leads to bewildering and uncomfortable circumstances that feel woefully underdeveloped. Similarly, Mickey hooks up with a married friend of Nick’s but how it all plays out and the supposed feelings Mickey has for the man are never really expanded upon. Is Prizker suggesting that married men can’t be trusted?
There is a joke mentioned twice in the film about an old couple who are in their 90s and decide to get a divorce. When the lawyer asks why they waited so long they respond, “we were waiting for the kids to die.” I’ve heard this joke MANY times in the past and on its own it’s pretty funny but how it relates to this film is a mystery. Maybe it reflects Simon’s late divorce from his wife. Perhaps adult children can’t handle the challenge of long-term marriages breaking up. I don’t know. It seems randomly placed here. That’s the problem with the film as a whole. Situations seem oddly positioned and underdeveloped.
What is good about the film is the acting. I particularly liked James Norton as Nick and Miles Heizer as Mickey. They have something of a rapport that feels more organic than some of the film’s other relationships. Both actors could easily be front and center in better films. It’s also nice to see Rosanna Arquette as Maria. She’s not featured in many scenes but the ones she is in she handles with skill and naturalism.
I can’t say I understand exactly what Pritzker was going for with Ex-Husbands. It’s not really a film about its title and it doesn’t really go anywhere other than to show that men and their relationships are complicated. I would need something more to truly recommend this one to you.
Ex-Husbands opens this week.