The Ugly Truth

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...

Truthfully, I'm not a huge fan of Gerard Butler, and I'm really not that familiar with Katherine Heigl, so I can't say that I went into this movie with particularly high expectations. But I have to confess that I was surprised. This is actually a very enjoyable movie, and at times (I'm thinking of the scene in the restaurant) it's downright hilarious. Heigl plays Abby, the uptight producer of a local Sacramento morning TV show who's always on the lookout for love but never finds it. Meanwhile, Mike (played by Butler) is the obnoxious host of an obnoxious talk show about relationships who gets hired for the morning show (against Abby's wishes) in the hopes of boosting ratings.

OK. You can pretty much see where this is going to end up so it can't be considered especially original, and it's true that once it takes its predictable turn (which is thankfully fairly late in the movie) it becomes rather formulaic as opposites attract and romance blossoms, etc., etc. But the story goes on for a while before that angle gets introduced, and there's a lot of fun along the way, especially as Abby and Mike first become friends and Abby tries to reinvent herself with Mike's help in order to snare a local doctor she's attracted to (who's played by Eric Winter.)

Yes, by the end it's quite predictable and the last 20 minutes or so become a little dull to be honest. But before then this movie does have a lot of laughs. Butler and Heigl also played their parts well and worked well together. It is at times (fairly often actually) a bit crude, so it's not for those who are looking for a sweet, innocent romance. But for a few laughs, this is worth watching. (7/10)

Over the years, i have found few romantic comedies suited to my taste. Be it live action or in the form of anime, romantic comedies tend to be very mediocre IMO with only a handful that turn out really funny and enjoyable. Through some unforeseen circumstances i ended up not watching "Gamer" starring Gerald Butler and instead watched "The Ugly Truth", also starring Gerald Butler. To be honest, it was my curiosity at seeing "Mr 'This is Sparta'" handle a comedy lead role that convinced me to give this movie a shot.

THe premise is as such. Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) is a perfectionist, "control freak"-ish morning show TV producer whose show is on the verge of being canceled due to low ratings. One night, she comes home from a disastrous date and happens to watch a segment of a TV show, "The Ugly Truth", hosted by "shock jock" by Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler). Abby calls into his show and argues with Mike on-air, in response to cynical attitude about relationships prompts, which leads to her quite literally "hating his guts". The next day, she discovers that the station she works for has hired Mike to do a segment on her show in order to boost ratings. This kicks starts a very storm tossed relationship between the two which lends itself to numerous comedic turns. Sooner than expected, Abby just so happens to fall for her doctor neighbor and she grudgingly goes to Mike for advice at "netting" the man of her dreams(actually the only man who fulfilled her listed criteria). The unlikely pair cut a deal in that if she is She agrees to his advice and is successful, it would prove Mike's theories on relationships and she will work happily with him. However if Mike fails, he agrees to quit.

Anyone with experience in this genre of movies can more or less fill in the rest of the story. Unlikely pair work together, more jokes, fall for each other, more jokes, Love triangle develops, tragedy strikes, touching finale. Finish.

In this case, I would admit that the usual formula actually works to a certain extent. It allows the audience the satisfaction of actually knowing what they are watching, and getting exactly what they are expecting. This is not avant Garde cinema, but it is entertainment. Also the formulaic story allows one to focus more on the scripting and acting, which IMO is where this movie truly shines.

Witty banter and a cornucopia of innuendo-ed jokes fill up most of the film. Sexual references abound but are written in such a tactful way that they do not come off as crass or crude. Most sexual innuendo jokes tend to be rude and sometimes offensive; thankfully thats not the case here.There is wit to the humor in this movie that utilities word puns and double meanings in their jokes to good effect. Thankfully, the humor is not over-played and the more serious moments of the movie are spliced very well into the overall narrative. The characters and situations are written in such a way that anyone could easily identify with them, which lends to a greater emotional involvement in the film.

Stellar acting by the cast also helps. Special mention goes to Gerald Butler who proves to be an exceedingly versatile actor. He nails the carefree, in-your-face, yet internally bitter character of Mike Chadway to the point that it is easy to forget the actor playing the role and just become so involved with character himself. Katherine Heigl does a satisfying job as Abby, lending both her acting chops and eye candy to the complex lead role.

My only beef with this movie is that it could have expounded on the relationship themes a little more instead of falling back on "the usual thing". Having a clearer conflict of ideals between Mike and Abby and maybe going deeper into the strengths and flaws of the ideas presented would have turned this film into a more thought provoking experience. "what men really want" , "what women really look for", "loving the 'me you want to see' or loving 'the real me'", all those little tidbits would have made benefited from a more central role in the film which would have given this movie a "fresher" feel instead of the stale standard story.

I was personally very entertained by "The Ugly Truth" especially in the laughs department, not just because the jokes were extremely funny, but that they were also well written, witty and made sense without being offensive. I loved superb acting by the leads, excellent cast chemistry and an overall sense of escapism.

At the end of the day, All i can say is that unless you are already a fan of romantic comedies or unless you have an open mind when it comes to various movie genre(<---like me), its best to stick with what you like. "The Ugly Truth" won't convert staunch action movie junkies or epic fantasy aficionados anytime soon, that's for sure, but just sit back relax and enjoy a good laugh that is easy on the brain. A hearty chuckle and a few quick tugs at the heartstrings now and then is good for body, mind and soul.

Note to the "not so proficient in English" crowd: Keep your ears open for all the double meanings behind the jokes, its funnier that way.

Romantic comedies, I've said it before and I'll say it again, we always have the hit and miss formula that comes with this genre. For the most part it's a miss, we RARELY have a funny or original romantic comedy. It's been over a year since we've had a good romantic comedy and this year seems to be pushing the horrible movies of this genre. For example, we had The Proposal that was released this year and it was just awful and so simple. The Ugly Truth seemed to be heading the same way when I first saw the trailer, but when I learned that it was Rated R, I decided to try to give it a chance. Honestly, this movie was a lot better than I had expected, it actually had some really great laughs and is a heck a lot better than The Proposal. But once again The Ugly Truth fell back into the ugly formula of clichés that are just annoying and there were quite a few things that I would have done differently with the story, I'll first explain the plot.

Abby, a TV producer, is coming home from another disastrous date one night, she happens to see a segment of a local television show, "The Ugly Truth," run by Mike Chadway, whose cynicism of relationships prompts Abby to call into the show to argue with him on-air. The next day, she discovers that the station is threatening to cancel her show because of its poor ratings, and the station owner has hired Mike to do a segment on her show to bring them back up. At first, the two have a rocky relationship; Abby thinks Mike is crass and disgusting while Mike finds Abby to be a control freak. However she meets the man of her dreams, a doctor named Colin living next to her, and Mike persuades her to follow his lead. She agrees to his helpful advice and if he can get her the man she wants, proving his theories on relationships, she will work happily with him, but if Mike fails, he agrees to quit; he successfully guides Abby to be exactly what Colin would want. But being a romantic comedy, Abby and Mike instead fall for each other as usual, you know how the story goes.

Now things I would've done different, if you don't want spoilers then don't read on: there is a child that comes into Mike's apartment, he and Mike get along great, I'm thinking that's his son; instead it's his nephew. I think this would have added substance to his character and made him more likable and would have had a better story on why he was so bitter on women, maybe like the mother left him or something. Second: I honestly would have had Abby chosen the doctor over Mike. Katherine and Gerad are great on screen together, but their chemistry for this film I felt was more of a great friendship than falling in love with each other. Her choosing Mike over the doctor was so typical, I would have had the doctor find out about what was going on and then take her back realizing that he still liked her very much and then Mike ends up with some slutty girl as usual happy with his shallow life, but still enjoying it. Third: no tired formulas, no girl best friend supporting everything the lead female does, no big kiss in front of an audience, no dramatic of finding out what a kiss meant. Fourth: why do we have gorgeous people claiming they have a hard time finding love or supposedly not having sex for a year? I'm not saying it's impossible, but I'm finding it hard to believe that girls who look like Katherine Heigl are having the hardest time finding love.

But there are some positives in the film, honestly I did have a good time watching this film over all, it was just the ending that killed the movie. But even the little rip off of When Harry Met Sally where Abby is wearing vibrating panties at a company dinner and someone saying what was in her food to have the same effect, it's an old joke but it never gets old. I loved that this was a Rated R rom-com because the reason MOST of these movies don't work are due to the fact that they're too family friendly and very much unrealistic. Not to say that The Ugly Truth is completely realistic, but more so than most films. We have some sick jokes but get a great laugh, Abby is going to a baseball game with Colin, her crush, and she accidentally spills her drink on his lap and starts rubbing his pants to clean them and the kiss cam lowers in on them with a bad angle looking like she's just having fun with his hot dog. Honestly I think most of the theater had a hard time catching their breath on that joke, no one could stop laughing. Katherine and Gerad do have great chemistry on screen, I just think it would have worked better as a friendship. So I would say this is better suited as a rental vs. a theater view. It's a lot better than I expected but had more potential as it falls back into the same old tired formula.

6/10

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.