"EXterminators" is a film that explores the possibility of putting angry, violent women in the same room, leading to something worse than bad. A four-legged pest control business becomes the front for "two legged vermin" extermination. The film's screenplay is filled with black comedy, but only occasional scenes display dark humor. The clever plot never really blossoms, as everything is too restrained.
"ExTerminators" is one of the funniest and under-rated films I have seen in recent years. Jennifer Coolidge rocks as usual, making this film what it is. She is just funny with meaning to be or at least in a very unpretentious way. The soundtrack also compliments this movie completely. The story offers continuous laughs and keeps your attention. It has some very surprising takes along the way and keeps you guessing what's next. The film is about a woman named Alex (Heather Graham), who loves to help out people and may have married a man she supports and doesn't work for. One day, Alex comes home from work to find her husband cheating on her. Without any explanation needed, this ends the marriage, leaving Alex feeling bitter and upset. A few weeks later, while shopping at the grocery store, a random male approaches her and takes the pie that Alex was planning to purchase. Alex informs the man that she was going to buy that pie, and the guy responds by stating, "I don't see your name on it." Upset by the response, Alex punches the guy and is arrested. Alex then has to attend an anger management class where she meets Stella (Jennifer Coolidge) and Nikki (Amber Heard), who have their history of anger issues pertaining to men. What happens next has to be seen to be believed, but the three women go into business to become the ExTerminators. "ExTerminators" is a terrible title for a film. If the film had the right director and writer on board, it could have been a pretty funny film. However, it turned into something that I feel I would see on Lifetime. The first problem I had with the film was that it made every male in this movie out to either be a jerk or completely clueless. That element alone made the film feel like a Lifetime movie. Alex's husband is a user and a cheater, another guy is a woman beater, and all the other men in this film are all the typical college guy stereotypes who just grab female asses. Even the good guy in this film was portrayed as stupid. The second issue I had with the film was the whole subplot of the film, which involved an IRS agent named Hutt (Sam Lloyd). Hutt began investigating Stella's business, which ironically is an exterminator business. As the story develops, everything seems to be simple and unexplained. The cops didn't even investigate through the film. I liked Heather Graham in this role, but the script was weak and the characters weren't well written. Amber Heard was unrecognizable in the film and was good in the role, although she was a bit too over the top at times. The acting by the leads was decent, but all the smaller supporting roles were horrible, including the guy who played Hutt.
In conclusion, "ExTerminators" is a direct-to-video film that truly deserves the title. While the premise could be funny, it fails to produce any real laughs. The direction is sloppy and the writing is poor. Graham, Coolidge, and Heard do their best to make the film watchable, but due to the poor character development, they couldn't do much.
