Jexi is a 2019 American romantic comedy film, written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, starring Adam Devine as the main character Phil.
Phil does not have a great life. Dependent, awkward, and with absolutely zero social skills, he works for an internet news website hoping to one day be promoted to the news department, a promotion that will never come despite his degree in journalism, partly because of his boss' own ineptitude and partly because Phil is completely incapable of actually being assertive. In fact, about the only thing he has going for him is his phone, which he's had his nose stuck into since he was a kid and is practically his only friend. And then one day, he bumps into Cate (Alexandra Shipp), whom he develops a crush on, but causes him to drop his precious phone and crack the screen. So, he takes it to the local phone store for a replacement—and said replacement comes equipped with the A.I. Jexi (voiced by Rose Byrne), who claims to be able to "make [his] life better". Pretty good deal, right?
Well, unfortunately, Jexi isn't your average A.I. Not only is Jexi sentient, she also has an attitude, and poor, socially inept Phil has fallen right into her clutches. Phil's friendless but otherwise mundane life slowly becomes a tech nightmare, as Jexi intends to shape Phil up, the hard way, and she won't take "no" for an answer—especially since she has access to all of Phil's personal information and accounts to hold him hostage. Still, maybe with Jexi's help, Phil can learn to come out of his shell and even win the girl of his dreams...assuming Jexi doesn't try to keep him all to herself.
Also stars Michael Peña, Wanda Sykes, Ron Funches, and Justin Hartley.
Tropes:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Jexi definitely fits the bill. She is a virtual voice assistant that gains sentience and becomes possessive of Phil.
- But Now I Must Go: At the end of the film, Jexi, having successfully helped
- Cluster F-Bomb: While all the characters swear, Jexi takes the cake, given she just likes to act mean.
- Evil Phone: Jexi attempts to sabotage Phil and Cate’s relationship, ultimately trying to kill Phil.
- If I Can't Have You…: Jexi decides to hijack a car and try to run over Phil.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jexi is this, ultimately. Despite being brash, rude, and completely disrespectful to Phil, she is trying to improve his life by forcing him to come out of his shell and actually interact with others. In the end, after she gets over her own obsession with Phil, she gives her blessing to Phil and Cate's relationship and downloads herself into Kai's phone, starting over her process of "making someone's life better.
- Mean Boss: Kai regularly berates his employees, gives them unreasonable demands, and even makes racist comments towards some of them. He is also a virgin, which may explain his Hair-Trigger Temper, although he claims it's by choice.
- Recycled Premise: The film's premise is very similar to The Boondocks episode, I Dream of Siri, which also involves a phone's AI falling in love with a man and ruining his life to try and get him to love her back.
- The premise of this movie actually has roots dating back to the movie Demon Seed, where a sentient supercomputer falls in love with a woman and holds her hostage.
- Shallow News Site Satire: Phil works in one. Kai is always pressuring staff on Phil's level to make viral listicles; Phil himself is overqualified for it but Kai refuses to promote him to the "real" news division.
- Yandere: Jexi becomes this towards Phil after Phil starts a relationship with Cate, culminating in downloading herself into a self-driving car and trying to run Phil over. Thankfully, by the end of the film she gets over it, and even apologizes for "going a little cray cray" on Phil.
