Respond to these rapid questions in our Jexi quiz and we will tell you which Jexi character you are. Play it now.
What the f*ck is a Jexi, anyway? You could spend an eternity staring at the movie showtimes and not come up with the correct answer unless you looked it up first. In addition, if you haven’t seen the trailer, you might be perplexed as to why there is a movie poster of Adam Devine gazing lovingly at his phone, with the word “Jexi” written in large bold letters next to it. It’s understandable that a word that’s so unpleasant to say aloud could turn off any interest in finding out.
Fortunately, the movie “Jexi” is a lot easier to comprehend than its obtuse title would lead you to believe. “Jexi” is the name of the cloud-based software that manages Phil’s (Devine) phone and, in many ways, his entire life, on the show. Many other younger millennials of his generation, Phil grew up with a phone in his hand, and the technology seems to have grown up with him from the time when kids would ask for their parents’ Nokias so they could play the pre-loaded game Snake. Phil is a member of the Generation Z. As a result of being completely reliant on his handheld device, Phil experiences a rude awakening when his phone breaks and is replaced with an off-brand phone that has a defective interactive interface named Jexi (voiced by Rose Byrne). Her mission is to improve Phil’s quality of life, rather than simply allowing him to continue his lonely routine of watching Netflix and ordering takeout. Using Jexi’s ability to manipulate Phil’s world (she has complete control over his email, social media, and bank accounts), she bullies him into making better decisions, coaches him on how to ask someone out on a date, and encourages him to make friends at work. Think of Siri or Alexa, but with a rude and pushy attitude.
For the first half of the film, the set-up is quite effective, and it continues to be so. It’s a B-comedy parody of Spike Jonze’s film “Her,” in which Joaquin Phoenix’s painfully shy character falls in love with an operating system, and it’s set in the same universe. Even the title of the film, “Jexi,” is a one-word homage to that film. “Jexi,” on the other hand, is very much a part of our current-day, relying on meme-able language that already feels a little out of date. Aside from that, writing and directing duo Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (of “Bad Moms” fame) give Phil the most contemporary of millennial problems: struggling to pay off student loan debt and trapped in a menial job writing viral pop culture lists while jealously eyeing the journalism career he may never have. “Jexi,” you’re in trouble.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Jexi quiz.
In “Jexi,” which is set in San Francisco, self-driving cars, biking hipsters, taking a left on Market Street and after-work kickball leagues are all targets for witty one-liners. Lucas and Moore have plenty of material to make light of, particularly when it comes to their mutual iPhone obsession. Several extras can be seen staring intently into their phones in almost every crowd scene, just as Phil does throughout the film. One particularly effective cutaway shot shows a trolley-load of people all staring at their phones. In their conclusion, they state that this addiction has also caused a generation’s social education to be thrown off course. Having no idea how to communicate with his coworkers (Charlyne Yi and Ron Funches) or his crush, Cate (Alexandra Shipp), Phil relies on his phone to figure out what he needs to say and when.
Jexi Quiz
Unfortunately, the phone is unable to correct all of the issues with the film. The second half of the film, during which Jexi’s feelings become possessive, is less amusing than cliched. Without a doubt, the female-sounding artificial intelligence would be envious of her man spending more time with another woman. The same can be said for other jokes, such as Wanda Sykes’ grumpy cell phone employee, which feels dated. The performance of Michael Pea’s character, Phil’s boss, who is similar to Michael Scott from “The Office,” but even dumber and even more insensitive, is dismal. In spite of the fact that Devine makes some strides in playing a less insufferable character than the majority of the characters in his oeuvre, his character’s relationship with Cate seems more unlikely than a smart-mouthed smartphone. However, while Ben Kutchins’ cinematography captures the city of San Francisco beautifully, the film’s interior shots are less appealing when they are messy, and wild zooms are used to add motion to scenes where Phil is sitting on the couch and talking on his phone.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Jexi quiz.
Despite the confusing title, which is perhaps the film’s biggest misstep, it is Byrne’s digitized and stilted delivery that garners the most laughs. Even when she’s not on screen, she’s the most endearing aspect of the film, or at least she is until the second half transforms her into a woman scorned. We’ll have to wait for a new model to see whether or not men and their female-coded systems in the movies will ever evolve beyond tired gender dynamics in the future.
For more personality quizzes check this: Jexi Quiz.
