Step 1: Here’s the REAL ugly truth: The Ugly Truth is an uninspiring romantic-comedy rehash.
Step 2: Tell Katherine Heigl she needs new material. Oh sure, she’s still cute as a button, but this is really just one too many stupid rom-com set-ups, even for her. She plays Abby, the prudish producer of a boring Sacramento morning news show, who is also a complete control freak and can’t seem to snag the right guy. Enter Mike (Gerald Butler), an offensive macho Lothario who hosts a cable access show called The Ugly Truth, on which he tells it like it is: Men just want sex. Thanks for that. Mike then takes a spot on Abby’s show to boost the ratings – and typically oil meets water. Things begin to soften, however, when Mike decides to coach Abby into getting a date with her smokin’ doctor neighbor, and the two start to appreciate each other. You can see where this is going, right?
Step 3: Give Gerald Butler something better to do, too. When he’s rockin’ the shit in the hardcore gangster flick RocknRolla, or screaming “This. Is. SPARTA!” in 300, then he’s on top of his game. But the minute he gets cute and cuddly, as in P.S. I Love You or The Ugly Truth, it all goes down the tubes for him. I have a solution: Stop doing sappy romantic crap, Gerry.
Step 4: Don’t give up on the genre, though. Sometimes a mediocre story is made better by the talent, say in the other more recent rom-com The Proposal. And sometimes the story surprises you with a few twists and turns, as in my favorite rom-com Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Unfortunately, none of those things exist in Ugly Truth. But I’m sure many people will enjoy the film anyway, to see Abby and Mike spar and make cute, or especially to see Abby have an unexpected orgasm in the middle of a business dinner because she’s wearing vibrating underwear by mistake. Oh, that’s so RICH.
Level of difficulty in watching The Ugly Truth: Moderately ho-hum. Maybe I’m just jaded when it comes to a worthwhile romantic comedy.