In the same vein as 2013’s Her, 2019’s Jexi examines the impact of modern technology on our lives. As a kid, Phil Thompson’s parents gave him various gizmos to distract from their arguments.

Now an adult (Adam Devine), Phil remains dependent on his smartphone for his social life, as he appears to have no actual friends. Even when he meets pretty Cate Finnegan (Alexandra Shipp), he seems unable to relate.

When Phil’s phone breaks, his new model comes with an automated assistant called “Jexi” (voiced by Rose Byrne). She goes beyond the usual services, though, and comes to dominate Phil’s life in ways both positive and negative.

Writers/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore came to prominence via their screenplay for 2009’s The Hangover. In the decade since that movie became a smash hit, they’ve largely stayed close to the raunchy well.

Lucas and Moore wrote/directed 2013’s lewd party comedy 21 & Over. They then made 2016’s lewd suburban comedy Bad Moms and its lewd holiday sequel, 2017’s Bad Moms Christmas.

Will it comes as a surprise that Jexi offers yet another lewd tale? Probably not, though the narrative seems like a less logical choice to go the crude ‘n’ rude path.

21 basically offered an alternate take on the Hangover motif, so I get its choice to go “hard-R rated”. In addition, part of the gimmick behind Moms was the notion that these suburban mothers would embrace their rude, profane sides.

As such, those films required a certain level of “R-ratedness”. Jexi does not, and its relentless pursuit of profanity and sexual content creates an awkward fit.

Given that Hangover and the first Moms did well, I guess Lucas and Moore feel reluctant to depart from the formula that worked for them. These choices just don’t work for Jexi, as they feel gratuitous.

And they also suffer from the frequency with which they appear. If Jexi tossed out the occasional crude gag, that’d work.

However, the movie seems to consist of nothing more than profanity and sex jokes. The filmmakers try to go more “earnest” toward the end, but we still find cheap titillation from start to finish, with no other forms of humor to alleviate the tedium.

At times, Jexi aspires to social commentary. It clearly wants to make a point about our modern-day reliance on technology and the ways it separates us from real human contact.

The film establishes those notions in the most heavy-handed ways and doesn’t depict them in an insightful manner. It just beats us over the head with its ideas and can’t find anything clever to say.

A quick look at my other reviews will indicate my oft-felt disdain for Devine, but I can’t say anything bad about his performance in Jexi. Sure, he overacts and tries too hard to sell the comedy, but I can’t blame him. The film sticks Devine with such lousy material that I can’t fault his overripe attempts to redeem the material.

He can’t, and neither can the able supporting cast of Shipp, Byrne, Michael Pena, Wanda Sykes and others. A collection of dick jokes with little redeeming value, Jexi flops.

Jexi appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a pleasant presentation.

Sharpness was positive. Only a smidgen of softness impacted some interiors, so the image remained pretty tight and well-defined most of the time.

I noticed no issues with shimmering or jaggies, and edge haloes failed to appear. Print flaws also failed to mar the presentation.

Jexi went with a teal-influenced palette that sprinkled in some amber/orange as well. Within the movie’s color design, the tones seemed solid.

Blacks were dark and deep, while shadows demonstrated nice smoothness. This was a consistently satisfying image.

As for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix of Jexi, it showed scope generally typical of the comedy soundfield. The film’s material allowed it to open up in a satisfying manner when necessary

The mix used the music in a broad, engaging manner, and the whole package fit together smoothly. Effects didn’t add a ton, but they brought some decent involvement when appropriate.

Audio quality seemed good. Speech was distinctive and natural, without edginess or other issues.

Music seemed warm and lush, while effects showed nice clarity and accuracy. Bass responses delivered great punch. The mix suited the story and kicked into gear when necessary.

A few featurettes appear, and these start with Making Life Better. In this 21-minute, 35-second piece, we hear from writers/directors Scott Moore and Jon Lucas, producer Suzanne Todd, and actors Rose Byrne, Adam Devine, Ron Funches, Charlyne Yi, Wanda Sykes, Michael Pena, and Justin Hartley.

“Better” examines the project’s origins, story/characters, cast and performances, Moore and Lucas as directors, and the movie’s themes. While we find a few decent insights, much of “Better” orients toward happy talk.

Unboxing Jexi spans eight minutes, 55 seconds and features Byrne, Devine, Lucas, Moore, Todd, property master William C. Martin and voice artist Laurie Burke.

This piece covers the movie’s phone and bringing Jexi to life. We gget a fairly good look at the subject matter.

We go on location for the six-minute, 37-second Filming in Fog City. It provides notes from Moore, Lucas, Todd, Shipp, Funches, Yi, Devine, and San Francisco Mayor Londonn Breed.

As expected, this reel discusses shooting in San Francisco. However, they mostly talk about the greatness of San Francisco, so expect little substance.

Tech Bros lasts five minutes, 31 seconds and includes comments from Todd, Lucas, Moore, Funches, Yi, Shipp, Devine, and Pena. This becomes an entertaining discussion of the “Tech Bro” stereotype and its use in the film.

Finally, Phone Fixation occupies seven minutes, nine seconds with info from Lucas, Moore, Hartley, Pena, Devine, Byrne, Yi, Funches, and Shipp.

They discuss how phones dominate our lives – and their own. It’s a fun view of the subject.

The disc opens with ads for The DUFF and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. No trailer for Jexi appears here.

Ten years after The Hangover established them as a hot property, Scott Moore and Jon Lucas continue to mine the same smutty mine. Via Jexi, they do so with diminishing results, as they produce no laughs in this inane raunchy comedy. The Blu-ray brings solid picture and audio along with a passable collection of bonus materials. Jexi becomes a trite, tedious stab at comedy.