The Ugly Truth
In terms of movie comedy, “The Ugly Truth” is a successful hybrid between raunchy laughs and sentimental rom-com. Collectively, it doesn’t have the sharp plotting and sly craziness of “The Hangover”- it has a little more in common with “Bruno” in that the raunch takes over the story.
Katherine Heigl stars as Abby, a local TV producer whose morning shows is slipping in the ratings. Her boss wants her to liven things up. A chance channel-changing by her cat one night puts her in touch with “The Ugly Truth,” a public access show about men and women hosted by Mike Chadwick (Gerard Butler). One listen to Mike’s misogynistic advice to the sexes, and Abby can’t help but call to set him straight.
It’s an embarrasing situation, but Abby’s boss is convinced- he’s just what the morning show needs. Soon Abby is trying to get over her disgust and play by Mike’s rules when the show’s ratings go through the roof. But when she sees the cute doctor next door, she’s forced into buying into some of his “wisdom” in hopes of landing him.
From there, it’s not hard to see the film’s rom-com trappings sneak into the raunchy and rowdy story, although the film does keep its’ comic edge, especially when Mike gets Abby a pair of vibrating panties, and a corporate dinner becomes a modern-day riff on the classic diner scene in “When Harry Met Sally” 20 years ago. No other scene in the movie matches that one in laughs, but director Robert Luditck (“Legally Blonde”) and his leads keep things sexy and funny, even during a finale that threatens to OD on rom-com sweetness. You won’t hear me complaining, though- I had a good time.
