Line #78 Film/MySuperExGirlfriend


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/my_super_ex_girlfriend_poster.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: He wanted a break... Now she wants to break him.]]
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4	''My Super Ex-Girlfriend'' is a 2006 SuperHero RomanticComedy film directed by Creator/IvanReitman.
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6	Matt Saunders (Creator/LukeWilson) is your basic everyman, who unwittingly ends up dating Superheroine G-Girl's alter ego, Jenny Johnson (Creator/UmaThurman). He finds out her secret, but soon also discovers that she's a ClingyJealousGirl and breaks up with her for being controlling and dangerous.
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8	[[NotGoodWithRejection She doesn't take it very well]], especially when he starts dating his co-worker Hannah Lewis (Creator/AnnaFaris). Meanwhile, her ArchEnemy Prof. Bedlam (Creator/EddieIzzard) hatches a plan to use this domestic dispute to DePower her, and enlists Matt to spring the trap.
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10	----
11	!!''My Super Ex-Girlfriend'' provides examples of:
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13	* AccidentalPervert: A RunningGag has Matt looking like he's doing perverted things with Hannah, making his StrawFeminist boss mad at him and Jenny to be [[ClingyJealousGirl incredibly jealous]]. Although [[AllMenArePerverts at least one time]] he really ''was'' [[EatingTheEyeCandy staring at Hannah's butt]].
14	* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: Jenny acquires this along with her superpowers and became G-Girl, leaving poor Barry alone and embittered to become Prof. Bedlam. Although considering the off-hand way she states she chose to lose her virginity to Barry, "just to get it out of the way", apparently [[ObliviousToLove never bothering to notice]] that he was ''completely'' in love with her, heavily implies she was somewhat of a self-centered jerkass ''before'' she got her powers.
15	* AllIsWellThatEndsWell: [[spoiler:The movie's ending is treated as such. Jenny ruins Matt's career, [[{{Yandere}} attempted to kill him]] AND wrecked his car. She offers to pay for the car she ruined. He's somehow okay with that. Considering she threw a ''Shark'' at him though, he probably considers himself lucky to be still breathing! It's obvious that he'd be BullyingADragon if he continued to press the issue and even Matt's not ''that'' stupid.]]
16	* AntiHero: Of the GoodIsNotNice variety. Aside from being a SuperHero G-Girl is, to put it bluntly, a selfish entitled jerk and a psychotic {{Yandere}} at worst.
17	* AlliterativeName: G-Girl's SecretIdentity is named '''J'''enny '''J'''ohnson. It gets a LampshadeHanging near the beginning, when she introduces herself to Matt.
18	-->'''Matt:''' Jenny Johnson! Wonderful name. You got the whole alliteration thing going.
19	* AnimalAssassin: G-Girl throws a live ''shark'' through Matt's bedroom window, after she finds out he slept with Hannah.
20	* AppliedPhlebotinum: The source of G-Girl's superpowers. (Specifically, [[GreenRocks radiation from a meteorite that crashed near her school]].)
21	* ApologeticAttacker: Matt apologizes to G-Girl for taking part in Bedlam's trap to DePower her.
22	-->'''Matt:''' I'm really sorry. But you did throw a shark at me, you know.
23	* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
24	** The shark G-Girl throws at Matt shouldn't have survived so long out of water or been able to pursue him, aside from whether or not it would've survived being thrown headfirst into a wall.
25	** There's also the question of how [[ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex Matt's bones were able to withstand sex with women with superhuman strength]] though [[DestructoNookie their strength destroyed beds and walls]].
26	* BerserkButton: Do not call Jenny "Crazy!"
27	* BettyAndVeronica: Eventually, Matt finds himself torn between his coworker and longtime crush Hannah and his more powerful and outspoken girlfriend Jenny.
28	* BewareTheSuperman: Particularly if she is a ClingyJealousGirl and you're planning to break up with her.
29	* BreastExpansion: The {{flashback}} scene where Jenny gets her powers makes it unmistakably clear that they include the MostCommonSuperpower.
30	* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: "G" is for G-Girl, who is notable for not having just one costume but (being a hip New Yorker) a whole closetful, each distinguished only by a "G" motif. Interestingly, she never explains what the G stands for.
31	%%* ButtMonkey: Matt.
32	* CaptainErsatz: G-Girl is an {{Expy}} of Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}, albeit with [[GoodIsNotNice a different personality]], complete with a {{Expy}} of ComicBook/LexLuthor in Prof. Bedlam.
33	* CasanovaWannabe: Matt's friend Vaughn is constantly trying to woo women during the film, but only manages to repulse them. [[spoiler:He finally gets laid after the credits]].
34	* CatFight: [[spoiler:G-Girl and Hannah get into one after the latter gets superpowers, with Vaughn getting excited at the prospect of a "girl fight"]].
35	* ChainsawGood: When G-Girl reveals her secret identity to [[SecretSecretKeeper Matt]], she makes him swear that he would rather have a chainsaw shoved up his ass than tell. When Matt imagines he tells his friend, she brandishes a chainsaw telling him he was warned.
36	* ClarkKenting: Wig + NerdGlasses = Instant disguise! Averted when Matt later discovers that his initial assessment of her ''was'' correct after all. Jenny's civilian personality isn't an act and she really ''is'' an emotionally unstable, neurotic, basket-case!
37	* ClingyJealousGirl: Jenny, who grows increasingly jealous towards Matt's close friendship with his coworker (and one-sided crush) Hannah. This eventually drives Matt away from her.
38	* CorruptedCharacterCopy: G-Girl is an expy of ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} (got her powers from an alien meteor instead of being an alien, has a KryptoniteFactor of the same meteor that empowered her, but otherwise the same basic FlyingBrick). The film asks "What if Supergirl was an [[InsecureLoveInterest insecure]], [[NervousWreck neurotic]], [[ControlFreak overly-controlling]] woman with a fondness for DisproportionateRetribution?"
39	* ConfessionTriggersConsummation: After Matt confesses his love to Hannah, she kisses him and they spend the night together.
40	* DatingCatwoman: [[spoiler:In the end, G-Girl and Professor Bedlam. He's implied to have [[HeelFaceTurn switched sides though]]]].
41	* DestructoNookie: Given G-Girl's [[spoiler: and then Hannah's]] powers, sex tends to lead to damage to the bed. And the walls.
42	* DisabilityNegatingSuperpower: The MagicMeteor that gave Jenny her superpowers also corrects her eyesight, [[BreastExpansion changes her breast size]] and makes her [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatHotness more conventionally attractive]] in general.
43	* DontLookAtMe: Jenny (as G-Girl) says this word for word to Matt after she saves his life as a means to keep both her normal identity and superhero alter ego self a secret from Matt. Doubles as JerkAssWithAHeartOfGold.
44	* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: TheMovie. The film basically portrays a manipulative, controlling, [[DomesticAbuse physically and emotionally abusive relationship]] enhanced with superpowers, as a comedy. It's still put in a negative light, of course, but a GenderSwap would be the stuff of ''nightmares''. Though also somewhat subverted; while people think at first that Matt must have done something to have G-Girl after him, once they realize that G-Girl is only ruining his life because ''[[PsychoExGirlfriend he broke up with her]]'', her public opinion goes down the toilet.
45	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Between Matt and Hannah.
46	* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Includes the main guy going from the superheroine G-Girl to his crush, Hannah. [[spoiler: What is odd is that, while G-Girl's hair turned blonde with her new powers, Hannah's hair actually turns from blonde to redhead]]. It seems the power turns redheads blonde and blondes into redheads.
47	* EvilFormerFriend: G-Girl and her ArchEnemy Prof. Bedlam used to be ChildhoodFriends, but their relationship fell apart once she gained her powers.
48	* EyeBeams: On lower settings, they're useful for FaceDoodling. Nothing wrong with shooting people in the head, right?
49	* FingerSuckHealing: Hannah sucks on Matt's finger to remove a splinter.
50	* FlyingBrick: G-Girl has the classic SuperHero flight/invulnerability/strength combo.
51	* HarmlessVillain: Professor Bedlam. He's never seen doing anything overtly villainous, making his status as a supposed supervillain almost something of an InformedAttribute. While he ''does'' leave Matt dangling off of the Statue of Liberty, considering he intended for G-Girl to rescue him, it makes it obvious that he knew he was never in any ''real'' danger at all. Likewise, the only person he's implied to have tried to kill is G-Girl, who is completely ''invulnerable''. If anything, it is heavily implied he became a "supervillain" just to get her attention.
52	%%* HeroicComedicSociopath
53	* {{Hypocrite}}: G-Girl’s entire campaign against Matt is fueled by the fact that he dumped her and broke her heart. It turns out that she did the same thing to Barry!
54	* HypocriticalHumor: Carla. Throughout the film, she practically considers men as always sexually harassing women, and pushing for the woman to file a complaint against the guy despite the guy doing nothing. During the credits, Carla goes up to a male employee and grabs his butt.
55	* InsultBackfire: Matt calls his friend Vaughn soulless and shallow when he says he'd have sex with a ton of women after breaking up. Vaughn agrees, saying "It is a blessing".
56	* InternalReveal: The film doesn't bother hiding Jenny's SecretIdentity as G-Girl from the audience, but it still takes almost a third of the film for her to reveal it to Matt.
57	* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: After being fired from his job due to Jenny/G-Girl's shenanigans, Matt warns Hannah to stay away from him as he fears Jenny could harm her.
58	%%* {{Jerkass}}: Jenny. Seriously.
59	* KarmaHoudini: G-girl commits several crimes and receives no punishment for them; her DomesticAbuse of Matt, property damage (destroying Matt's car) and several counts of attempted murder (against Matt), one of which (her stunt with the live Great White Shark) also included animal cruelty and killing an endangered species - Great Whites were declared protected in 1999, when the movie is set in the early 2000's. Of course, it'd be pretty difficult to punish someone with her powers.
60	* KickTheDog: G-girl throws a shark at Matt and his new lover. Essentially G-girl took a fish out of water, threw it head-first into a wall. The fact that said fish was a Great White Shark is offset by its brutal death and the fact that at the time of filming Great White Sharks were an endangered and protected species.
61	* KryptoniteFactor: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. G-Girl's "kryptonite" comes from the same meteor that gave her her powers in the first place.
62	* LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman: Turned completely on its head and deconstructed entirely. Matt initially goes out with the meek Jenny not knowing she was the adventurous and popular G-Girl, but eventually grows repulsed by how insanely possessive and selfish she is in both her super and secret identities. After all, personality flaws don't disappear just because someone happens to be a superhero in secret.
63	* LookBothWays: G-Girl rescues a girl who wandered into the street without looking, rebuking her for forgetting about this... and then promptly gets hit by a car herself, after she fails to as well. Being {{nigh invulnerable}}, she's unharmed.
64	* LoveTriangle:
65	** Jenny/Matt/Hannah.
66	** Also Bedlam/Jenny/Matt.
67	%%* MadScientist: Professor Bedlam.
68	* MagicMeteor: The source of G-Girl's powers was a meteorite that crashed near the school she lived.
69	* ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex: Sex with Jenny ends up being the DestructoNookie kind due to her powers, and while Matt finds that [[SexGoddess the sex is amazing]] it still ends up hurting him a lot.
70	-->'''Jenny:''' ''[after breaking his bed during sex]'' I'm sorry. I'll get you a new one.\
71	'''Matt:''' ''[in a pained voice]'' A bed or a penis?
72	* ManOfWealthAndTaste: Lampshaded.
73	-->'''Professor Bedlam''': Please, I am not super. I am not a villain. I'm just a regular man like yourself with 10,000 more money, intelligence and taste.
74	* MileHighClub: G-Girl has sex with Matt while flying him around the city, and he says the trope by name, calling it another version of the same thing (as they fly due to her superpower, rather than a plane).
75	* MirrorCharacter: Despite G-Girl being considered the "hero" and Professor Bedlam being the "villain", both of them are very much alike in the sense they are both [[spoiler: willing to go to the extremes to take "revenge" on the ones that broke their heart.]]
76	* ModestyBedsheet: Used when Matt sleeps with Jenny and Hannah, although the characters are still [[RightThroughHisPants obviously clothed underneath the sheets]].
77	* MostCommonSuperpower: Exposure to GreenRocks made G-Girl [[BreastExpansion grow a few cup sizes]].
78	%%* MundaneUtility
79	* MurderTheHypotenuse: G-Girl throws a shark into Matt's bedroom after he spends the night with Hannah and later explicitly threatens to kill her several times.
80	* NaughtyByNight: Vaughn thinks Jenny is this on first seeing her, saying that though she looks like a librarian on the outside, inside there's a wild side. He's more right than he knows. As her SuperHero alter ego G-Girl, she's revealed to be a [[SexGoddess very enthusiastic lover]] she [[ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex accidentally injures Matt]] and [[DestructoNookie destroys his bed]] with her SuperStrength.
81	* NiceGirl: Hannah, who [[spoiler: gets G-Girl's powers at the end, and, unlike her, is actually a good girlfriend to Matt.]]
82	* NighInvulnerable: G-Girl seems completely impervious to any damage. Even her hair.
83	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Had Matt not gone after the purse snatcher on Jenny's behalf, she would never have gone on to throw his life upside down, wreck his car, ruin his career and throw a shark at him.
84	* NotGoodWithRejection: On one side there is Matt, a normal guy. On the other side, there is Jenny Johnson AKA G-Girl, a Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} {{Expy}}. They were an item at first, but then Jenny became more neurotic, aggressive and controlling. So Matt breaks off the relationship and... she does not take the rejection well. She terrorizes his life, sends his car into orbit, and throws a shark at him.
85	* ObliviousToLove: [[spoiler:G-Girl thought she and Bedlam drifted apart after she got her powers when really her newfound popularity caused her to unwittingly ignore him. He became a supervillain to get her to notice him again]].
86	* PunchclockHero: G-Girl appears to have become a superhero simply because that's what expected you should do with superpowers, rather than out of any apparent heroic urge or instinct.
87	* PsychoExGirlfriend: [[{{Yandere}} A super-powered one at that]].
88	* RedAndWhiteComedyPoster: The poster makes use of this, with the white background and the title and credits being in red.
89	* RescueRomance: Jenny falls for Matt because he's the first person who "rescued her" by helping her with a robber who stole her purse. She didn't actually need his help, but was touched by the gesture.
90	* RightThroughHisPants: Matt doesn't remove his clothes when he spends time in bed with Jenny [[spoiler: or Hannah after his love confession]].
91	* RomanticComedy: [[RecycledInSpace With superheroes]]!
92	* SassyBlackWoman: Carla, in a weird pseudo-StrawFeminist sort of way.
93	* AScarToRemember: Jenny scars Matt's forehead by burning the word "Dick" into it with [[EyeBeams heat vision]] as revenge for calling her crazy.
94	* SexGoddess: PlayedWith. G-Girl/Jenny herself believes she's amazing in bed due [[PowerPerversionPotential to her powers]] and proves it when she and Matt have DestructoNookie sex. But while Matt agrees she's great at sex, he's not as happy about [[ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex how much she ends up hurting him with her powers]].
95	-->'''Matt:''' She broke my bed.\
96	'''Vaughn:''' Wow.\
97	'''Matt:''' Busted it to pieces. I'm gonna see her again today.\
98	'''Vaughn:''' What are you talking about? No! You have sex with her once and then you move on.\
99	'''Matt:''' Not if you get on the greatest ever roller coaster, you don't. Believe me, you get right back in that line.
100	* SexualKarma: PlayedWith and PlayedForLaughs. G-Girl, who is a very troubled person, is both [[SexGoddess amazing]] and [[LousyLoversAreLosers awful]] in bed due to her powers. While Matt says it ''feels'' amazing, since she doesn't bother to hold back her strength during sex, she also ends up [[DestructoNookie breaking his bed]] and [[ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex hurting him accidentally]], which she's unapologetic for. By contrast, when he Matt has sex with pure and innocent Hannah in the middle of the film, it's portrayed as romantic if fulfilling, even if not as eventful. [[spoiler: ... But then this is subverted when we see Matt and Hannah have sex, after Hannah gets superpowers, in exactly the same way as Matt and G-Girl used to have sex, but even worse: instead of breaking the bed, they go through the ''neighbor's wall''.]]
101	* ShamefulStrip: G-Girl uses her SuperSpeed to quickly strip Matt completely naked while he's in the middle of a business presentation without anyone noticing her. He has a NakedFreakOut and uses HandOrObjectUnderwear to cover himself, but his StrawFeminist boss still assumes he's an exhibitionist pervert and fires him.
102	* ShamuFu: Again, G-Girl threw a ''LIVING'' shark at her ex. [[DisproportionateRetribution That'll]] teach 'em!
103	* ShoutOut:
104	** Vaughn yells "[[Film/RockyIII Eye of the tiger!]]" while trying to encourage Matt to ask Jenny out.
105	** Jenny threatens to kick Hannah to "[[Film/TheWizardOfOz Munchkinland]]".
106	* ShapedLikeItself: When Vaughn is describing G-Girl using her SuperSpeed to [[TornadoMove turn herself into a tornado]] as "spinning like a spinny thing."
107	* StevenUlyssesPerhero: Professor Bedlam's real name is '''B'''arry '''Ed'''ward '''Lam'''bert.
108	* SuperSpeed: Jenny as G-Girl can move at accelerated levels of super speed.
109	* SuperStrength: Jenny can lift cars, sharks, human beings, missiles, anything.
110	* SuppressedRage: When Matt first mentions "needing space", Jenny's OK with it... until he mentions dating other people, then she [[ClingyJealousGirl slams the knife she is chopping carrots with into the board]]. And then frighteningly, bends it with her bare hands.
111	* ThreateningShark: When G-Girl turns on Matt, she throws a shark at him. [[SuperPersistentPredator It almost kills him, despite his apartment being on dry land.]]
112	* UnresolvedSexualTension: Matt and his co-worker Hannah have a lot of this, which makes Jenny incredibly jealous. Considering they do hook up shortly after Matt breaks up with her, she wasn't entirely paranoid.
113	* UnstablePoweredWoman: After becoming G-Girl, Jenny becomes a selfish, possessive, and controlling jerk.
114	%%* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler:Professor Bedlam]].
115	%%* [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility With Great Power Comes]] [[AvertedTrope Petty Revenge]]
116	* WhatTheHellHero: After people find out that G-Girl is going after Matt just because he broke up with her (rather than committing any sort of crime) they are ''much'' less forgiving of her deeds towards him.
117	* WithFriendsLikeThese: Vaugh is the stereotypical {{Jerkass}} RomanticComedy BestFriend whose only worry is about getting himself and his friend laid, while treating all women as a LustObject. He's not even remotely worried when it seems like Hannah [[DisneyDeath was seemingly killed]] in the finale, just telling Matt he needs to "get over it".
118	* WithGreatPowerComesGreatHotness: An effect of the GreenRocks, Jenny became a HeadTurningBeauty when she gained her powers.
119	* WorkoutFanservice: Matt and Vaugh have their chats while they work out, and both [[CasanovaWannabe Vaugh]] and [[MaleGaze the camera]] are constantly ogling the [[FanserviceExtra random attractive women]] doing workouts, with several gratuitous close-up shots of them.
120	* {{Yandere}}: G-Girl vows to destroy the protagonist's life after he breaks up with her.

Context Film / MySuperExGirlfriend