The Ugly Truth (D or 1/4 stars)
'The Ugly Truth' (directed by Robert Luketic), is getting a bad rating from me, not necessarily because it's awful. I mean, I laughed out loud no less than 3 times. I typically enjoy Gerard Butler. No, the reason this film only gets 1 out of 4 stars is because it is insulting, & insultingly predictable - with a drab, drab plotline. Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) is an uptight, control-freak producer for a Sacramento morning television show that's on the brink of being canceled due to miserable ratings. Needing something to boost viewers, the station manager hires Mike Chadway (Butler), a crass, politically incorrect host of the cable access advice show, 'The Ugly Truth'; in which he calls out why women make it so hard for themselves to find & keep a man. Abby can't stand Mike's line of bull, & tells him forthrightly. BUT, he's a hit for the station, of course. So Abby has to stick it out with him.
Meanwhile, she's obsessing (to put it lightly) about how to reel in her hunky doctor neighbor, Colin (Eric Winter). Mike proposes a deal to her. He'll offer his keen insights into the male psyche for Abby & teach her how to catch Colin if she'll agree to work with Mike for the news program. If he fails in helping Abby snatch-up her perfect man, then he'll quit & make her life much easier to deal with. She agrees to this proposition, & with Mike's help, begins dating Colin. Of course, there wouldn't be a movie without romantic foils. And it becomes clear (near the end of the film) that Abby is actually attracted to her nemesis, Mike, & Mike is rethinking his anti-romance philosophy as a result of his growing attraction for Abby. I think we all know how this battle of the sexes will end.
It seems that Hollywood has forgotten how to make original rom-coms, nowadays. For every fantastic rom-com like (500) Days of Summer, there are 20 The Ugly Truths ... seriously. It's just that the rom-com formula has been remade, regurgitated, & spat-out for over 50 yrs. That formula: 2 attractive people don't get along, then they do, then they don't, they kiss, fall in love, & all this with little-to-no character depth or true romance. Blech. 'The Ugly Truth' does offer some memorable moments, however. There's a humorous scene where Abby hangs upside down from a tree. I nearly died laughing when something goes incredibly wrong for Abby at a baseball game (shown on one of those jumbotrons). And I was hysterical during a sequence involving vibrating underwear. But these moments were few & far between. And the last half hour is void of ANYTHING interesting.
I mentioned that 'The Ugly Truth' was 'insulting' before; and on several levels. For one, the copious amounts of needless cursing & descriptive sexual language is in this film, only, to substantiate an R-rating; as if extra expletives & raunchy dialogue will raise the 'quality'. Another insulting aspect is the editing. The scene in which Abby hangs upside down from a tree occurs early in the film. Fast forward days & days later (in the plot), & you find Abby talking to a character about the incident in the tree; she says (and I'm paraphrasing), "Hi, remember me, the tree, LAST NIGHT". Who makes that mistake & lets it slide when releasing a major motion picture? Most of the movie is boring, the aforementioned humor is suspect, the ending is as cliched & predictable as they come. And yet ... something has to be said about why these films keep being made, & why they make enormous amounts of $$ ...
Though movies like 'The Ugly Truth' are contrived, they represent a good 'ole night out for couples who just want to sit back, relax, laugh (hopefully), grab a bite to eat, & go home. This is that type of movie. Some people will think this movie is great; they'll think that the dialogue is snappy, witty, & fun. They'll think they're seeing something original, when they're watching the oldest plot in the books (how often have we seen the tightly-wound, romantically challenged career woman fall for a rough & tumble guy in the end?). But again, familiarity seems to be a virtue. Not MINE. But it's a virtue. 'The Ugly Truth' is not as edgy, smart, hysterical, or involving as it aims to be. Neither is it realistic. Almost everything that happens in this story can only happen in the movies.
Meanwhile, she's obsessing (to put it lightly) about how to reel in her hunky doctor neighbor, Colin (Eric Winter). Mike proposes a deal to her. He'll offer his keen insights into the male psyche for Abby & teach her how to catch Colin if she'll agree to work with Mike for the news program. If he fails in helping Abby snatch-up her perfect man, then he'll quit & make her life much easier to deal with. She agrees to this proposition, & with Mike's help, begins dating Colin. Of course, there wouldn't be a movie without romantic foils. And it becomes clear (near the end of the film) that Abby is actually attracted to her nemesis, Mike, & Mike is rethinking his anti-romance philosophy as a result of his growing attraction for Abby. I think we all know how this battle of the sexes will end.
It seems that Hollywood has forgotten how to make original rom-coms, nowadays. For every fantastic rom-com like (500) Days of Summer, there are 20 The Ugly Truths ... seriously. It's just that the rom-com formula has been remade, regurgitated, & spat-out for over 50 yrs. That formula: 2 attractive people don't get along, then they do, then they don't, they kiss, fall in love, & all this with little-to-no character depth or true romance. Blech. 'The Ugly Truth' does offer some memorable moments, however. There's a humorous scene where Abby hangs upside down from a tree. I nearly died laughing when something goes incredibly wrong for Abby at a baseball game (shown on one of those jumbotrons). And I was hysterical during a sequence involving vibrating underwear. But these moments were few & far between. And the last half hour is void of ANYTHING interesting.
I mentioned that 'The Ugly Truth' was 'insulting' before; and on several levels. For one, the copious amounts of needless cursing & descriptive sexual language is in this film, only, to substantiate an R-rating; as if extra expletives & raunchy dialogue will raise the 'quality'. Another insulting aspect is the editing. The scene in which Abby hangs upside down from a tree occurs early in the film. Fast forward days & days later (in the plot), & you find Abby talking to a character about the incident in the tree; she says (and I'm paraphrasing), "Hi, remember me, the tree, LAST NIGHT". Who makes that mistake & lets it slide when releasing a major motion picture? Most of the movie is boring, the aforementioned humor is suspect, the ending is as cliched & predictable as they come. And yet ... something has to be said about why these films keep being made, & why they make enormous amounts of $$ ...
Though movies like 'The Ugly Truth' are contrived, they represent a good 'ole night out for couples who just want to sit back, relax, laugh (hopefully), grab a bite to eat, & go home. This is that type of movie. Some people will think this movie is great; they'll think that the dialogue is snappy, witty, & fun. They'll think they're seeing something original, when they're watching the oldest plot in the books (how often have we seen the tightly-wound, romantically challenged career woman fall for a rough & tumble guy in the end?). But again, familiarity seems to be a virtue. Not MINE. But it's a virtue. 'The Ugly Truth' is not as edgy, smart, hysterical, or involving as it aims to be. Neither is it realistic. Almost everything that happens in this story can only happen in the movies.