The Ugly Truth (2009)

10 Comments

1. 

   michelem3 from United States
   25 Apr 2012, 5:49 pm

   I saw this movie at a preview event last Friday night and it was hilarious. The sold out cinema was laughing hysterically throughout the movie. The movie is fast paced and does not drag. The comedy is "r" rated with a little raunchy adult humor that can be shocking at times but that is in line with the movies theme of male/female relationships.
   
   Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler were both great in the film. Not a role that you would expect to see the King of Sparta, but Butler has great comedic timing complimenting his tough guy persona. And Katherine Heigl is once again perfect doing comedy.
   
   If you are expecting to see a typical romantic comedy you will be surprised, because this R rated film is geared toward the men in the audience as well as the ladies. Grab your significant other and be prepared to laugh and enjoy the movie together.

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2. 

   ekbatani14 from United States
   25 Apr 2012, 5:49 pm

   So as I was forced to watch this movie with my sister and her friend, the original stereotypical thoughts towards all love movies seem to be bursting throughout my head- corny: guy meets girl, girl hates guy at first, girl meets another guy then realizes that the first guy was the love of his life, girl goes back to guy and the movie ends with a touching make-out scene. Well, of course this was the case. HOWEVER, I wouldn't exactly call this movie a chick-flick. It seem to be the "battle of the sexes type," and it did not disappoint. I can easily say that I had some great laughs in this movie; surprisingly, and I am not even a comedy/chick flick guy. The whole moral of the movie is something both guys and women can you relate to, and some scenes are just hilarious for all types of audiences. The whole plot of the story was actually pretty solid for this style movie. In fact, the approach of this movie is so unique that I believe it belongs in its own category. Gerard Butler gives an excellent performance, both funny and charming. The humor had tremendous variety that kept audience laughing hysterically at some points. Overall, I really do recommend this movie for the male audience (Especially couples) and guarantee that they will not be disappointed after seeing this flick.

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3. 

   Amy Adler from Toledo, Ohio
   25 Apr 2012, 5:49 pm

   Abby (Katherine Heigl) is an intelligent producer of a local morning show in Sacramento, California. She lives with her cat in a beautiful, lushly-gardened apartment complex but, the lovely lady longs to meet Mr. Right. One day, bad news arrives, twofold. One, since the show's ratings have slipped, the owners of the station have decided to go in a new direction. And, two, that direction would be south, Abby believes, for they have hired a brash, I-don't-mince-words talk show host, Mike (Gerard Butler) for a reprise of his late-night call-in program, The Ugly Truth. Mike will do small segments of advice, where he will counsel women on what a man "really wants". Since Abby has a past with this gentleman (she had recently called the late night show to tell Mike to take a hike) the young producer is mighty peeved that he has been hired for "her" program. Instant dislike reigns supreme. However, Mike does seem to know about affairs of the heart, even in his twisted fashion, and starts to give advice to Abby, on how to "catch" the very handsome young doctor, Colin (Eric Winter) who has just moved into her complex. two doors down. But, since this requires Abby and Mike to actually converse and confide in one another, could it be that Cupid's arrows could go astray? This is a very raucous and funny romcom but. it is definitely not in the Doris Day tradition. Therefore, if you are easily offended or prefer "sweet" tales of love, with just a touch of spice, this one may not be for you. That said, the cast is really delightful, for Heigl and Butler make a most attractive. sparring duo and Winter turns heads with his looks and smiles. The supporting cast, with Cheryl Hines and the rest, is quite nice, too. Also, the Sacramento setting is lovely while the costumes are terrific and the production values high. As for the direction, it is full of energy and mischief, as befits a script that is clever but rather risqué. All in all, if you love romcoms or any of the stars, you will probably embrace this one with gusto. For the truth is, it is very romantic at its core, and that's the best ingredient a comedic love tale can possess.

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4. 

   Filmaholic78 from United Kingdom
   25 Apr 2012, 5:49 pm

   I now believe that 2009 should be dubbed the year of the Romcom.
   
   I was dragged to see the proposal by my girlfriend and thought it was hilarious. When she wanted to go and see The Ugly Truth I found myself putting up less of a fight this time. And I'm glad.
   
   This film is HILARIOUS. I have to say I enjoyed almost every second from start to finish. It truly is designed for both men and women with fantastic views on romance, sex, attraction etc from both sides.
   
   Acting is great, story is great and the chemistry between Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler works very well on screen.
   
   To sum this film up I have to say watch it. Make your own mind up. But I bet you won't be disappointed and I bet you can't stop yourself from one agreeing with some of the points made and two laughing out loud.

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5. 

   Dan Walker from Denver, CO
   25 Apr 2012, 5:49 pm

   What a fun movie! Don't pay attention to the critics – they need to just go and enjoy a movie sometimes. If you don't like crude, sexist humor, then don't go see this movie. However, if you can relax and just go watch a movie, then you will enjoy this one. The entire theater was rolling with laughter during this movie. I haven't laughed so much at a movie in a long time. This movie was a mix of romantic and slapstick humor with a little bit of crudeness thrown in for fun. This movie is definitely not one to take kids to – but that's why it is rated "R." It is full of adult humor (some crude), but that is nice for a change. All I can say is…go and enjoy this movie!!!

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6. 

   jaredmobarak from buffalo, ny, usa
   25 Apr 2012, 5:49 pm

   Do you want to know the ugly truth about The Ugly Truth? Well, besides being obvious and banal cinematically, it made me laugh … a lot actually. Romantic comedies usually have one thing going for them and that is predictability. While this one has it in spades, what surprised me was how crude and crass the humor ended up being. And that's a very good thing because those instances brought on the biggest laughs of them all. One could guess there would be a few moments, especially after watching the trailer and seeing Gerard Butler's character being the epitome of alpha male, however, one would never anticipate a dinner party scene involving vibrating panties and a young child that loves objects resembling remote controls. But I'll tell you, set-ups like that were what kept me invested in the mediocre story, it definitely wasn't the manufactured chemistry between the leads.
   
   Everything revolves around our heroine Abby, played by Katherine Heigl. It is definitely a role that she has proved herself willing to portray, the strong-willed, professional beauty left by the wayside in regards to the other sex. She produces a successful morning show that just can't win in the ratings. Her cohorts are as conservative as she, willing to do a piece about the mayor to try and drive viewership back their way, shaking their heads when risqué ideas are batted around. Her boss, however, decides to hire "shock-jock" of sorts Mike who has been cultivating a following on cable access with his insight into the truth about relationships. His callous nature and unwavering ability to say exactly what is on his mind breaths life back into Abby's show despite the trepidation of lowering herself to the kind of television she has always abhorred. She can be swayed, however, once Butler's Mike agrees to play Cyrano to her Christian in wooing her dating checklist approved neighbor Colin. Like that French film, though, and all its many copies, we all know who is really falling in love in the end.
   
   Legally Blonde's Robert Luketic is behind the camera for this one and I'll admit that he tries his best to use the script in order to keep the audience on their toes. With subtle silent tricks, (introducing Mike's nephew and sister in a way to make us completely believe they are his son and wife), as well as a fearless use of language and sexual innuendo, (bravo to the studio for letting them take the R-rating and run with it), definitely got this guy—as in me—to stay alert while awaiting the next comedic gag. And while I didn't quite believe the romantic chemistry between Butler and Heigl, their relationship as buddies worked swimmingly. The beginning of their pact—to get her Colin and he respect on the set—where Mike coaches her on how to recover from the desperate call for a date is paced perfectly and acted just right. His over-zealous confidence and her naivety to it all becomes a great one-two punch. One that works just as well when she turns the table by proving she can flirt after a very funny shopping sequence where Mike is the one approving her wardrobe.
   
   And it's that aspect that worked for me too, seeing the guy be the relationship guru for the girl. Sure you want to think that he is wrong, you want to take offense to things he is saying as a guy—willing yourself to believe that he isn't speaking about you—but the sad truth is, it's all probably not that far off. He is so right when he says he doesn't understand romance or love, but that he is a master at lust and manipulation. His methods work and they are foolproof, but as we realize towards the end, along with Abby, the bond they acquire is never lasting. If you have to be a generic type to win someone's heart, well, you will never be happy. The ugly truth, therefore, is that dating is hard and relationships take work, but if you aren't honest with yourself or your significant other, it is all a lie that will only end in heartbreak.
   
   I'd like to give some credit to the supporting cast, but, frankly, they aren't on screen very much. This is the Katherine and Gerard show through and through. John Michael Higgins and Cheryl Hines do their best to steal some thunder, yet, thinking back, their most successful moments are a result of reactions to what Butler and/or Heigl did. If there was one guy that I really enjoyed in the background, and he is very quietly effective here, it would be Jesse D. Goins. His brief seconds of screen time, with either a facial expression or quick quip, are gold. The rest of the movie does rely on the stars and I applaud them for doing an admirable job. Why Butler needed to fake an American accent is beyond me, (his face just looked weird as he tried so hard to hide the Scottish), and Heigl's smugness rubs me the wrong way every time, but I was able to look past those crutches. If I could give The Ugly Truth any words of encouragement, it would be that my girlfriend loved it. So, if it fires on all cylinders for the demographic it's marketed to, and kept me laughing enough to forget how mediocre the actual story was, I guess, when all is said and done, it does do a pretty darn good job.

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7. 

   belzedet from Portland, Oregon
   25 Apr 2012, 5:49 pm

   Before renting this film I had read quite a few reviews about this film on this site and decided that it sounded good and would be appropriate for me to watch with my 17-year old daughter. I was misled.
   
   So, I need to make a comment. I've just re-read as many of those previous comments/reviews, plus a dozen more. It seems that many people saw the film in "preview" showing – they all loved it. Could those posts be planted by the movie production or distribution companies? Because, frankly, this movie was not funny, it was filled with vulgarity, and it was poorly made, with choppy scenes, poor character development, etc.
   
   If the creators of this film were trying to emulate a Hepburn/Tracy-like relationship on screen, they failed. Seeing a beautiful woman say the word c*** repeatedly is not humorous, sexy or intriguing. It's just plain bad film-making. A terrible script, stereotyped characters and, overall, a bad career choice for the actors involved.
   
   Very inappropriate for high school aged kids who love the romantic comedy formula and go to these movies because they feel good that the couple ends up together happy. This couple finally gets together, but my daughter and I felt liked we'd been dragged through the mud with them to get there.

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8. 

   Pete_Tranters_Sister from United Kingdom
   25 Apr 2012, 5:49 pm

   If you can suspend your belief long enough to accept that the lovely Katherine Heigel would ever have a problem finding a man, then this trip to the Fairy Land of Hollywood Make Believe is for you.
   
   This is another of those movies in which all the women are unpleasantly uptight and work in either television or magazines. And where, in spite of being successful and attractive, they all see themselves as tremendous failures because they don't have a boyfriend. In this land, the men are all coarse and juvenile yet somehow still manage to attract beautiful, accomplished women that in reality would be well out of their league. And, of course, women are expected to change all of their less attractive traits to attract men, but men are to be accepted for what they are.
   
   This is a strange movie to categorise – it's clearly meant to be a chick flick but judging by the "wisdom" imparted, I'm presuming it's written by single, geeky men who want to believe that acting like morons impresses women. There are attempts to make Gerard Butler's character sympathetic to women – he proclaims his show is the truth but won't let his young nephew watch it – hypocrisy anyone? There's the general impression that he looks after his sister – I wonder if he is including her in his statement that men want to see all women wrestling in jello? Heigel's shortcomings are discussed in great detail, Butler's are only touched upon – if the movie had been a little more even handed in its portrayal of damaged human beings, it might have been a classic. But the end of the movie when he falls for Heigel being her "real self" completely renders everything he has ever preached about as a lie. Why he suddenly drops his life's philosophy of being a dickhead and falls in love remains a mystery. The only thing I learned here is that both men and women are way too judgemental about each other.
   
   Also – Gerard Butler – Scottish accent, Irish accent, American accent - just pick one and go with it.
   
   There is some good banter and a few lines made me laugh out loud which is why it gets two stars and not one, but when it comes to the truth about relationships, this is about as deep as a puddle.
   
   Oh, and before you say it, yes I'm ugly and single.

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9. 

   Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois
   25 Apr 2012, 5:49 pm

   Romantic comedies, I've said it before and I'll say it again, we always have the hit and miss formula that comes with this genre. For the most part it's a miss, we RARELY have a funny or original romantic comedy. It's been over a year since we've had a good romantic comedy and this year seems to be pushing the horrible movies of this genre. For example, we had The Proposal that was released this year and it was just awful and so simple. The Ugly Truth seemed to be heading the same way when I first saw the trailer, but when I learned that it was Rated R, I decided to try to give it a chance. Honestly, this movie was a lot better than I had expected, it actually had some really great laughs and is a heck a lot better than The Proposal. But once again The Ugly Truth fell back into the ugly formula of clichés that are just annoying and there were quite a few things that I would have done differently with the story, I'll first explain the plot.
   
   Abby, a TV producer, is coming home from another disastrous date one night, she happens to see a segment of a local television show, "The Ugly Truth," run by Mike Chadway, whose cynicism of relationships prompts Abby to call into the show to argue with him on-air. The next day, she discovers that the station is threatening to cancel her show because of its poor ratings, and the station owner has hired Mike to do a segment on her show to bring them back up. At first, the two have a rocky relationship; Abby thinks Mike is crass and disgusting while Mike finds Abby to be a control freak. However she meets the man of her dreams, a doctor named Colin living next to her, and Mike persuades her to follow his lead. She agrees to his helpful advice and if he can get her the man she wants, proving his theories on relationships, she will work happily with him, but if Mike fails, he agrees to quit; he successfully guides Abby to be exactly what Colin would want. But being a romantic comedy, Abby and Mike instead fall for each other as usual, you know how the story goes.
   
   Now things I would've done different, if you don't want spoilers then don't read on: there is a child that comes into Mike's apartment, he and Mike get along great, I'm thinking that's his son; instead it's his nephew. I think this would have added substance to his character and made him more likable and would have had a better story on why he was so bitter on women, maybe like the mother left him or something. Second: I honestly would have had Abby chosen the doctor over Mike. Katherine and Gerad are great on screen together, but their chemistry for this film I felt was more of a great friendship than falling in love with each other. Her choosing Mike over the doctor was so typical, I would have had the doctor find out about what was going on and then take her back realizing that he still liked her very much and then Mike ends up with some slutty girl as usual happy with his shallow life, but still enjoying it. Third: no tired formulas, no girl best friend supporting everything the lead female does, no big kiss in front of an audience, no dramatic of finding out what a kiss meant. Fourth: why do we have gorgeous people claiming they have a hard time finding love or supposedly not having sex for a year? I'm not saying it's impossible, but I'm finding it hard to believe that girls who look like Katherine Heigl are having the hardest time finding love.
   
   But there are some positives in the film, honestly I did have a good time watching this film over all, it was just the ending that killed the movie. But even the little rip off of When Harry Met Sally where Abby is wearing vibrating panties at a company dinner and someone saying what was in her food to have the same effect, it's an old joke but it never gets old. I loved that this was a Rated R rom-com because the reason MOST of these movies don't work are due to the fact that they're too family friendly and very much unrealistic. Not to say that The Ugly Truth is completely realistic, but more so than most films. We have some sick jokes but get a great laugh, Abby is going to a baseball game with Colin, her crush, and she accidentally spills her drink on his lap and starts rubbing his pants to clean them and the kiss cam lowers in on them with a bad angle looking like she's just having fun with his hot dog. Honestly I think most of the theater had a hard time catching their breath on that joke, no one could stop laughing. Katherine and Gerad do have great chemistry on screen, I just think it would have worked better as a friendship. So I would say this is better suited as a rental vs. a theater view. It's a lot better than I expected but had more potential as it falls back into the same old tired formula.
   
   6/10

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10. 

    Sherazade from United States
    25 Apr 2012, 5:49 pm

    Kambakht Ishq(Bollywood Movie) + The Ugly Truth(Hollywood Movie) = The same crap!
    
    They are essentially the same film. Both very vulgar, irritating and have an otherwise decent actress(Kareena Kapoor/Katherine Heigl) making a fool herself in the female leading role and an even usually better actor(Akshaye Kumar/Gerard Butler) making a bigger asshole of himself in the male leading role. I rented this because I like Gerard Butler and he owes big time with his next few movies otherwise I'm signing off of him for good. Nobody should be subjected to this kind of crap.
    
    Let's just say that I never liked Katherine Heigl and this movie has officially deleted her from my actresses-to-watch-for-anything-tangible list.

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