I could easily join the legions of critics who have made a snider remark about how aptly titled The Ugly Truth is, but that’d be almost as unoriginal as the film itself. Whilst I admit there isn’t much room for originality in romantic comedies given how the outcome must always remain the same, grocery shopping is arguably a more  novel experience than sitting through Robert Luketic’s (Legally Blonde, 21) latest effort. It’s essentially a rehash of Pretty Woman with the tongue-in-cheek attitude of Sex and the City, but has some serious consistency issues when it comes to matching the chemistry of the former and comedy of the latter.

Katherine Heigl of Knocked Up fame stays firmly within her comfort zone as TV producer Abby; a snobby workaholic who struggles to find a man that ticks all her unrealistic boxes. When ratings reach an all time low on her breakfast show, the station hires  egotistical womaniser Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler) to run a segment of his popular community TV show called ‘The Ugly Truth’. Initially, Abby is repulsed by Mike’s frank analysis of what men ‘really’ want, arguing that her new dreamy neighbour Colin (Eric Winter) is evidence all his chauvinistic musings are bogus. Yet when Colin gives Abby the cold shoulder, she reluctantly starts to heed Mike’s advice in order to win him over.

I needn’t tell you how it ends, as the answer is half the reason why we watch rom-com’s in the first place. We take delight in seeing love find a way in the unlikeliest of scenarios, uniting the unlikeliest of people. Whilst The Ugly Truth sure does get the ‘unlikely’ part right, taking the adage ‘opposites attract’ to a new extreme, it seems as though Cupid has gone on vacation. Independently, Heigl and Butler have just enough charisma to keep us interested in their barefaced characterisations, but their chemistry together is so horribly contrived, I’d sooner label Pamela Anderson’s breasts ‘natural’ than I would the development of their on-screen romance.

If I had to guess, the four women who penned The Ugly Truth did so out of spite, as they incessantly drive home the point that men are chauvinistic pigs completely incapable of the emotion ‘love’. As such, my advice to guys would be to not see this film on a date. She’ll likely enjoy it far more than you will, but once the ‘ugly truth’ about guys is revealed, I’ll be dammed if it doesn’t take a hit on your chances.

Maybe if the film had induced a few more laughs, I’d have partly forgiven it for it being so mechanical. Yet The Ugly Truth milks the ‘sexist vs. prude’ gag till it bleeds, struggling to make a joke out of anything else. Even when it does strike the funny bone, such as a scene where Abby’s  vibrating underpants are remotely activated during a corporate dinner, the gag greatly overextends its welcome.  Heigl can justifiably blame the script for her character not having nearly as much comedic input as Butler’s, who manages to use his dry wit to make a loathsome character on paper somewhat likeable on screen. Even if  he does suit the masculine hero role that bought him fame in 300, I must admit it’s nice to see Butler show some range. Maybe it’s about time Ms. Heigl did the same.

 

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