Whether someone likes Jexi or not lies, in some ways, with one’s level of appreciation for the film’s lead, Adam Devine. The actor, who first garnered attention in Pitch Perfect, carries the entire film about a lonely—and smart phone addicted—aspiring “serious” journalist, who is making a living as a listicle writer (who, for example, spends his days finding photos of cats who look like Ryan Gosling). When he gets a new phone, with its variation on Siri—entitled Jexi—Levine’s Phil will never be the same.
One of the first things viewers need to know about this comedy is that the voice of the title character is provided by none other than the Australian sensation known as Rose Byrne. The actress has a bevy of beautiful training in the dramatic arts, but one of the biggest surprises of her career is her comedic timing and pure comedy talent. That was first (for American audiences) seen with her scene-stealing turn in Bridesmaids. After all, that was a comedy built around SNL breakouts Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, as well as Melissa McCarthy. Then, Byrne went toe-to-toe with her onscreen hubby Seth Rogen in the hilarious Neighbors and of course, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.
What Byrne does with the titular character in Lexi is the supremist of challenges. After all, she needs to be robotic, without being, well … robotic! There must be some emotive inflection with her performance, but still must firmly exist within the lexicon of being an Artificial Intelligence entity. Then, there’s that whole chemistry issue with someone who the actress never performed her lines alongside—Devine. Talk about a complicated character to dive into, but if anyone can triumph as Lexi, it’s Byrne.
The opening of the film lays it all out there in a way that is smart and supremely succinct. Phil has been handed a cell phone or varying types as he grew up as an antidote to the toxicity of his parents fighting. As such, he has always seen that device in his hand as a friend, a confident and supporter whose sole purpose is to serve the soul who holds it. To say that has hindered his interpersonal skills is an understatement. The layers of Phil’s characterization are quite simple and drift into stereotype on occasion. At the end of the day, it is as if the part was written for Devine. It is a classic character right of the mold that gave us Josh in this year’s Isn’t It Romantic, Mike in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Bumper in Pitch Perfect, and even Jason—his smaller role opposite Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in The Intern. As I said, if you enjoy the comic stylings of Devine, you can stick with him and the overall story arc throughout Jexi. What is important to point out, is one does not have to like Devine to enjoy Lexi—which is the most unique of dichotomies.
That is largely due to the fact that the comedy is equally in your face as it is situational. After all, this is a film that chronicles a “defective” phone that develops an all-out fully consuming and obsessive nature with its owner. Jexi hangs threats over Phil as varied as emptying his bank account, sending inappropriate emails to his boss (Michael Pena) and yes … you knew they’d be “dick pics” that could ruin him on many fronts. All the while, Phil is intrigued by an actual living and breathing girl named Cate (Alexandra Shipp) and it is the “mission” of Jexi to make its owners lives better. For a while, that is exactly what Jexi does. When Cate and Phil start romantically progressing, the virtual assistant becomes really jealous and that’s exactly where our comedy ensues.
The premise works well for writer-directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who keenly know to never take what they’re doing too seriously. After all, this is a story about a phone lifting up a life, and then trying to tear it down. Just think about something for one moment. Imagine that your phone could use whatever you do on your phone against you, even the smallest, most insignificant thing like a throw-away insult/joke in a text that could be directed directly at the person at the receiving end of it? That’s pretty funny.
There is an issue with comedies never knowing when to say when. Jexi does not have that problem as it clocks in at merely 84 minutes. There’s the predictable fall out that occurs between Jexi and Phil and how exponentially that reverberates throughout our protagonist’s life. After all, every comedy (and dramas too, I suppose) need to have some conflict in the latter second act that must be resolved by the close of the story (i.e. the third act). Particularly in comedies, these moments drive me up a wall. Too many times the conflict is forced and given what screenwriters have laid out for us up until that point, it is just not believable. Yet we must get over that dispute speed bump, and hopefully hit a cruising speed right up until the end. The best comedies do it well (Wedding Crashers comes to mind).
Jexi, unfortunately, lands somewhere in the middle.
The trouble comes in exactly as expected—even time wise—and after everything has completely unraveled, Lucas and Moore limp for a little while afterwards before recouping and delightfully having us running towards that comedy finish line.
What Jexi does well—but never pushes it as far as it could have—is put up a mirror to us at this particular moment in time. The gorgeousness that is San Francisco—its skyline, it’s hilly streets, the unique architecture and of course that colorful California sky—is smartly used as a distraction that never distracts anyone seen in the film. I’m sure you’ve guessed it—yup, everyone is staring at their phones. Crowd shots of folks on the trolley cars, faced glued to phones. Even Phil, when leaving his apartment walks by the most stunning of views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Yet, he never sees it. That is America, heck the world, in 2019 and Jexi will leave audiences thinking about the meteoric rise of smart phones and how they’ve completely and utterly changed our ways of life. Sure, technology-wise, it has opened us up to enhancing lives in many ways (think banking, movie times, social media, maps and directions, etc.). Many say that it has shrunk the world. Watching all these cinematic souls walk aimlessly around one of the globe’s most beautiful cities completely unmoved by the all-encompassing beauty, for people like Phil, it has allowed them to become more isolated than ever. Don’t fret, this realization is not achieved with a hammer, it is done with humor.
After all, studies have shown that the best way to reach people is through laughter. Hopefully after watching Jexi, a swath of folks will put down the smart phone and open up their eyes.
Grade: B