The Ex

Living in Manhattan, Tom is a cook who has difficulty keeping a steady job. His wife, Sofia, is an attorney. When their first child is born, they agree that she will be a full-time mom and he will work hard to get promoted.

When Tom is fired after defending his friend Paco, he takes a job in Ohio at the advertising agency where his father-in-law is the assistant director. He is assigned to report to Chip, a strict and hard-working paraplegic who is Sofia’s ex from high school. Chip is still obsessed with Sofia, and he schemes to make Tom’s work life miserable. As Tom’s frustrations mount, he begins to sway Sofia to his side.

Tom starts to suspect that Chip isn’t handicapped after all and goes through his desk. He finds a photo of him playing tennis and rushes to his in-laws’ house to see his wife and show her the picture. He finds Chip having dinner with Sofia and her parents, and holding his child. Tom tries to prove that Chip isn’t actually paralyzed by dragging him up a flight of stairs and then throwing him, hoping he will stand up to avoid a fall.

Chip doesn’t stand (the photo is actually his late twin brother) and Tom is humiliated in front of his family. Later, he confronts and attacks him, where Chip reveals that he really can walk, but can’t fight outside of his chair. Sitting back down, Chip beats him severely, and then, to Tom’s increasing rage, reveals that he plans to have sex with Sofia again.

When Chip gets a call from the ad agency boss in Barcelona offering him a move to Spain to become the agency’s creative director, he asks Sofia to come with him. Tom pleads with her to believe him that Chip has been faking his paralysis. When she rejects Chip, he angrily tells his new “boss” he’ll only need one ticket — as it’s revealed that Paco is on the other end of the phone call. Chip tells Sofia he >faked his orgasm< before getting out of his chair and storming out. Continuing to mock the couple, Chip is hit by a bus.

Tom and Sofia have moved out of Ohio, and her dad is helping him start his own ad business. Now, the couple have swapped roles, Tom becoming a stay-at-home dad while Sofia returns to practicing law full time. During the credits, Chip is shown in Barcelona in a wheelchair with two broken legs, and the once-effective passive-aggressive routine that worked so well in Ohio is ignored in Spain. Still insisting he works there, Chip is tossed out of the ad company, and later Tom’s friend sees him on TV in the middle of the running of the bulls.

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 15:58