It seems like concept that could be funny. The idea that Alexa or Siri could turn on us at any moment in a jealous rage, but “Jexi” fumbles the concept with an unlikable protagonist and a some very unfunny situations that could have been much better with a steadier hand.
Adam Devine (Pitch Perfect, Neighbors) stars as Phil, a click bait list writer with hopes of being a serious journalist some day. Phil lives his entire life on his phone, so much that he doesn’t even know how to get to work without his GPS. When his phone breaks while talking to an actual person, he finds himself stuck with “Jexi”, his new phone’s artificial intelligence which soon goes rogue and starts to destroy his life.
Almost none of it works.
Phil is impossible to root for. A despicable protagonist that has us rooting for the phone less than half way through the film. The jokes might give you a chuckle but will most likely fall flat, and what could have been a gem with Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids, X-Men) playing the voice of Jexi, she’s so over modulated that you can’t even tell its her. Directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore give us a sharp looking San Francisco world to play in but the story is just too lame to allow us to enjoy it. At only 80 minutes, its a poorly built paper airplane of a movie.
Michael Pena (Ant-Man, Dora) and Wanda Sykes sure do their best in supporting roles to lift “Jexi” out of the dirt but the lift is too heavy. There is a kind message somewhere in this mess to remind you to focus on the real world but it just gets lost in all of the nonsense.
This could have been a funny version of “Her” but the problem is that “Jexi” isn’t even as funny as that melancholy but excellent film.
Jexi:
GRADE: D-
Rated: R
Running time: 1Hr 20 minutes
