Grade: B
No offence to the big wigs in Hollywood but this summer has been a little lacking in quality movies. During a typical summer I would probably not be willing to shell out the cash for a movie like this one. Luckily for me the theater in my town offers $5 matinees and I was just in a movie mood this weekend. I truly enjoyed The Ugly Truth and so now I must thank Hollywood for failing to produce anything outside of robot and weird animal movies.
In addition to being slightly bored this weekend, I chose this movie because of the lead actors. Katherine Heigl has been a favorite since her days as an alien in New Mexico. I love Gray's Anatomy and particularly like what Heigl does with her character Izzy. Gerard Butler is incredible. He scared the mess out of me as the Phantom,even if his falsetto will never be on the same level as Michael Crawford. He won my heart as the author of letters from beyond the grave in PS I Love You. Going in to the theater I was looking forward to a nice standard chick flick, I was not disappointed.
The Ugly Truth gets it's name from a cable access television show where Gerard Butler's character, Mike, tells what he considers to be the truth. The gist of his program is that men want women with big boobs, round butts and who are willing to get on their knees occasionally. Well that would be the PG way to describe his advice anyway. Katherine Heigl plays Abby, a Type A television producer who works on a morning show with sliding ratings. She is actively seeking a boyfriend who will meet the criteria on her checklist of the perfect man, examples of which include being successful, liking cats and being into red wine.
Abby and Mike meet when Mike is added to the staff of the morning show in order to boost ratings. In addition to growing the show's ratings like crazy, Mike helps Abby by teaching her to be the kind of woman that a man wants. Through his advice Abby starts dating Colin, the handsome doctor who meets all ten items on her checklist. From here typical chick flick antics ensue.
Now in school you learned that a C stood for average work and that a B represented something that went a little beyond what was expected. You may be wondering what set this movie apart from it's hundreds of rom com counterparts. This movie sets itself apart in three ways for me. First, the lead characters are fantastic, you instantly like them. Next, the supporting cast does a great job of adding color and humour while not stealing attention from the main theme of the movie. Lastly the comedy in the film is superb. Often in a romantic comedy you get the romance shoved down your throat and the comedy falls to the wayside. This movie found a great balance of sentiment of humor.
The on screen chemistry between Heigl and Butler was surprising, I was unsure of how these two dynamic actors would merge on screen, but it worked well. Butler sends out this bad boy with a heart vibe that makes you want to slap him and kiss him all at the same time. Mike is definitely the type of character you want to cheer for. At first you hate him for being a pig and then you get these glances into his actual personality, as it contrasts with the person he tries to be on tv, and you end up rooting for him. This plays well off of Heigl's character who is looking for love on paper but doesn't really know how to deal with it in real life. Heigl is one of the most beautiful actresses in America, yet she manages to make you believe that her character has trouble finding men. You can imagine yourself being friends with this girl, sitting with her at happy hour and hearing the latest story of a date gone bad.
Another winning part of this movie is the supporting cast. The news anchors on the morning show, played by are fantastic and hilarious. They are exactly what you imagine Regis and Kathee were like when the cameras are off. Heigl's romantic interest, Dr. Colin, is the definition of the type of guy you always thought you wanted. The actor in this role did a fantastic job of being the perfect man on paper yet still not being Abby's Mr. Right.
The comedy in this scene comes from both situations and characters. Character traits reveal themselves in uniquely funny situations and are continually funny throughout the movie without getting stale. Abby has a happy dance that makes you want to laugh both with her and at her at the same time. Abby's control freak leaps out during a blind internet date with amusing results. There is also a scene with a personal pleasure device that is a must see. What sets this scene apart from others you may have seen is that the film directors know exactly where the line is and they moan and gasp there way right up to that line but dont cross it.
As a frequent viewer of romantic comedies I have become a connoisseur of sorts when it comes to endings. Going into a film like this, you know that 98% of the time that the leads will end up together. The trick to creating a good ending then is to bring that moment to you in a way that is unexpected or at the very least do so with minimal cheesiness. This movie leads you up to that moment with a lot of promise. The scene is set for a fantastic ending. I wish they had left it there and let us imagine why happened and what was said.
I believe that a lot of yours view of movie come from the mindset with which you go into the movie. If you go in expecting greatness and get something that is only good, you tend to think that it was actually bad. For this film you should go in expecting some stereotypical chick flick scenes. Expect foul language and some comments that would make your mom blush. This movie was good not great, cute not life changing. A decent filling for a few hours to kill at the cineplex when you have already seen Harry Potter.
And that's the way I see it.
