L'abominable vérité

So as I was forced to watch this movie with my sister and her friend, the original stereotypical thoughts towards all love movies seem to be bursting throughout my head- corny: guy meets girl, girl hates guy at first, girl meets another guy then realizes that the first guy was the love of his life, girl goes back to guy and the movie ends with a touching make-out scene. Well, of course this was the case. HOWEVER, I wouldn't exactly call this movie a chick-flick. It seem to be the "battle of the sexes type," and it did not disappoint. I can easily say that I had some great laughs in this movie; surprisingly, and I am not even a comedy/chick flick guy. The whole moral of the movie is something both guys and women can you relate to, and some scenes are just hilarious for all types of audiences. The whole plot of the story was actually pretty solid for this style movie. In fact, the approach of this movie is so unique that I believe it belongs in its own category. Gerard Butler gives an excellent performance, both funny and charming. The humor had tremendous variety that kept audience laughing hysterically at some points. Overall, I really do recommend this movie for the male audience (Especially couples) and guarantee that they will not be disappointed after seeing this flick.

Gerard Butler is one of my favorite actors and in The Ugly Truth he's very inappropriate. Robert Luketic directed a fun rom-com that is very bold, charming, and energetic; lovable yet easy to hate. Katherine Heigl is gorgeous and delightful she's easy to enjoy; I need to see more of her! A little obnoxious at times but I guess it's a guilty pleasure.

I now believe that 2009 should be dubbed the year of the Romcom.

I was dragged to see the proposal by my girlfriend and thought it was hilarious. When she wanted to go and see The Ugly Truth I found myself putting up less of a fight this time. And I'm glad.

This film is HILARIOUS. I have to say I enjoyed almost every second from start to finish. It truly is designed for both men and women with fantastic views on romance, sex, attraction etc from both sides.

Acting is great, story is great and the chemistry between Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler works very well on screen.

To sum this film up I have to say watch it. Make your own mind up. But I bet you won't be disappointed and I bet you can't stop yourself from one agreeing with some of the points made and two laughing out loud.

If you're looking for a breezy, predictable romcom that pokes fun at gender stereotypes, "The Ugly Truth" will fill the slot. It's basically a watered-down rehash of the classic "When Harry Met Sally" gender war romcom (right down to the orgasm at a restaurant scene) with nothing really new. Unfortunately the angle that would have given it a fresh spin ended up on the cutting room floor. I'll get to that in a sec. First let's summarize the story.

Abby (Katherine Heigl) is an uptight, prudish tv producer who is forced to work with a loud-mouthed, misogynistic talk show host named Mike (Gerard Butler). Each presents an extreme stereotype of the sexes: Abby is a control freak who expects her man to be straight out of the Hallmark Channel while Mike treats women like he's ordering at the McDonald's drive thru. The plot revolves around a bet: Mike tells Abby that if she follows his neanderthal advice, she can snare her perfect dream man.

So there's an interesting sort of role reversal, where the prudish female is taking lessons from the neanderthal bro in order to achieve her ideal Hallmark romance. That itself was a great start, but this clever spirit of the film got lost when they cut a few critical scenes (I guess because those scenes focused on character development and didn't have enough zingers).

The scenes that were cut showed exactly how hopelessly neurotic Abby is and why she keeps scaring men off. And they focused on the important, yet mostly lost, subplot of how fake Abby must become in order to snare her man. 4 or 5 scenes were cut, and rather than understanding the degree of Abby's "Pygmalion" transformation, we the audience are rushed through the process. Also cut are some scenes that show Mike to be more sensitive/human, giving his character depth which is otherwise lacking. The result of these cuts is, instead of this film showing more of a complex gender-role-reversal switcheroo, it simply falls back on the black & white stereotypes of men being neanderthals and women being prudes. Nothing exceptionally clever, but still entertaining enough.

So in the end, yes, I can understand why the watered down message could offend some. What we get is mostly the male perspective of Mike, reducing Abby's role to being his clueless sidekick. And the rest is predictable.

The angle of them on a tv set with a producer/talent relationship is interesting, but it's nothing really new if you've done your romcom homework. On that account I would sooner recommend "Groundhog Day" which has the identical setup--Bill Murray playing the narcissistic tv talent with Andie McDowell playing his more sensible-minded producer--except that Groundhog Day rightfully focuses on the narcissist coming down to earth, not the other way around which we see here.

A final note worth mentioning. I've heard it said that any movie that ends with a hot air balloon is insulting to the viewer's intelligence. There is indeed a hot air balloon in this one. So be prepared...

Abby (Katherine Heigl) is an intelligent producer of a local morning show in Sacramento, California. She lives with her cat in a beautiful, lushly-gardened apartment complex but, the lovely lady longs to meet Mr. Right. One day, bad news arrives, twofold. One, since the show's ratings have slipped, the owners of the station have decided to go in a new direction. And, two, that direction would be south, Abby believes, for they have hired a brash, I-don't-mince-words talk show host, Mike (Gerard Butler) for a reprise of his late-night call-in program, The Ugly Truth. Mike will do small segments of advice, where he will counsel women on what a man "really wants". Since Abby has a past with this gentleman (she had recently called the late night show to tell Mike to take a hike) the young producer is mighty peeved that he has been hired for "her" program. Instant dislike reigns supreme. However, Mike does seem to know about affairs of the heart, even in his twisted fashion, and starts to give advice to Abby, on how to "catch" the very handsome young doctor, Colin (Eric Winter) who has just moved into her complex. two doors down. But, since this requires Abby and Mike to actually converse and confide in one another, could it be that Cupid's arrows could go astray? This is a very raucous and funny romcom but. it is definitely not in the Doris Day tradition. Therefore, if you are easily offended or prefer "sweet" tales of love, with just a touch of spice, this one may not be for you. That said, the cast is really delightful, for Heigl and Butler make a most attractive. sparring duo and Winter turns heads with his looks and smiles. The supporting cast, with Cheryl Hines and the rest, is quite nice, too. Also, the Sacramento setting is lovely while the costumes are terrific and the production values high. As for the direction, it is full of energy and mischief, as befits a script that is clever but rather risqué. All in all, if you love romcoms or any of the stars, you will probably embrace this one with gusto. For the truth is, it is very romantic at its core, and that's the best ingredient a comedic love tale can possess.