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‘The Ugly Truth’ rings false
Every romantic comedy must answer a key question: Do I like this guy and this girl?
Even though The Ugly Truth gets that question right, it still fails because it gives the wrong answer to the other key question every romantic comedy must answer: Do I really care if this guy and this girl end up together? Ultimately, I didn’t.
From the very first time they share the screen, it is glaringly, blatantly obvious that Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler are made for each other. She’s a successful TV news producer, he’s an up-and-coming talk show host who leaves viewers aghast with his ragingly misogynistic romantic advice.
So when Butler comes to work on Heigl’s show, she’s aghast. Sparks fly, and she and Butler can’t stand each other, so of course, we all know they’re just right for each other. However, a third party intervenes when Heigl spots The Perfect Guy (Eric Winter) next door. After these two start dating, Butler tells the insecure Heigl that he’ll coach her through the process and help her score.
This premise makes absolutely no sense, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief to a degree because Heigl and Butler are fun to watch and have very good chemistry. Heigl is playing another variation on her “steely ice queen” persona, but when she lets her hair down and plays more comic scenes, she’s very funny, particularly in what is bound to be the infamous “vibrating underwear” scene, which I can’t detail in a blog as polite as this one. Butler is so charismatic, he actually makes it somewhat believable that Heigl could fall for him. He takes what is essentially a one-dimensional character and gives him more shading than the screenplay requires.
Two of the writers of this movie scripted Legally Blonde, which was also directed by Robert Luketic. However, lightning doesn’t strike twice. This time, the writing is so predictable, I was constantly one step ahead of the movie. Maybe two.
Granted, many Hollywood romantic comedies are predictable to one degree or another, but The Ugly Truth botches the third party. Winter is so bland as “the other guy,” he’s never once a compelling threat to Heigl and Butler. Winter is the romantic comedy equivalent of the “Goose” character in Top Gun - the one you might as well call “dead meat.” The character wrecks any real drama this comedy needs. And it doesn’t help at all that the romantic climax is so badly shot it practically screams “We didn’t really go up in a hot air balloon - we’re against a green screen!”
All this undermines an appealing lead couple, and that’s a shame. I didn’t think The Proposal was any great shakes, but that’s still the romantic comedy of the summer by default.
GRADE: C+
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Comments
By Allie D.
July 24, 2009 12:06 PM | Link to this
Exactly as I suspected, when I saw the trailer. I already knew exactly how it was going to end. This exemplifies the problem with 99.9% of all romantoc comedies these days.