Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»3614. The Ugly Truth (2009)

    3614. The Ugly Truth (2009)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on January 11, 2022 2009, 6 - 7.9, 90-99 mins, Comedy, Jan 22, Movies Of 2022, Review, Romance, United States
    7.9 A new guilty pleasure
    • Acting 7.9
    • Directing 7.9
    • Story 7.9
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler, Eric Winter

    Director: Robert Luketic

    Running Time: 96 mins


    The Ugly Truth is an American film about a dedicated but uptight local news producer who is forced into hiring a bombastic, misogynistic new on-screen talent. However, despite their initial clashes, she begins to learn from his controversial views on men and love to get the perfect man she’s always wanted.

    Oh dear. I think I’ve got a new guilty pleasure on my hands. Everything in my bones is telling me that The Ugly Truth isn’t a good movie. It’s predictable, it’s crass, and it’s frankly ridiculous at times. But for some reason, I absolutely loved The Ugly Truth. It may be a preposterous rom-com, but there are a lot of laughs, some surprisingly interesting ideas on romance, and even emotionally captivating drama that I never saw coming.

    So, what’s so wrong about this movie that I feel guilty for enjoying it? Well, the fact of the matter is that The Ugly Truth is among the most predictable romantic comedies I’ve ever seen. Not only is it obvious from the beginning that Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler are polar opposites destined to be together, but pretty much every beat of the story is fantastically formulaic, and plucked out of thin air almost against the flow of the screenplay.

    Romantic comedies aren’t the place to expect groundbreaking storytelling, but The Ugly Truth really sticks to the formula as closely as it can. And yet, I had an absolute whale of a time watching it.

    First things first, the one place where The Ugly Truth seems to diverge from the classic rom-com formula is in its use of crude, rather explicit humour. As fluffy as the overarching story is, there’s a lot of swearing, and a lot more focus on sexual humour than simple romance. And while that all might seem rather crass, it’s actually a breath of fresh air in the rom-com genre.

    With its cruder, harsher writing, Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl go from generic romantic interests into hard-as-nails sparring partners. The pair both put in a fantastic shift in the lead roles, and despite both of their characters being fantastically irritating in the early stages, you do really grow to love them over the course of an hour and a half – and actually want them to end up together.

    There’s more to The Ugly Truth than a simple story of someone just looking for love. The point of the movie is a surprisingly more complex look at the nature of love between men and women, from both the most pessimistic and most optimistic perspectives. And with that, some of that generic, often boring romantic magic is gone, and replaced by a refreshing dose of cold-hard realism that I loved.

    That being said, much of the plot is absolutely ridiculous. Gerard Butler’s Bergerac-like powers to get Heigl a date by turning her from a driven, detailed career woman into a walking Barbie doll may indeed be based in reality, but it all comes about way too quickly, and way too easily. However, with the comfort of the film’s formulaic story, you can still sit back, turn your brain off, and watch it all unfold with ease.

    So, as surprised as I am to say it, I absolutely loved The Ugly Truth. Predictable, formulaic and plainly ridiculous, it has all the ingredients of ‘just another rom-com’, but the movie’s use of harsher, cruder humour, some captivating insights on love between men and women, and determined performances from Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler all go a long way to making the film a genuinely entertaining watch. So, that’s why I’m giving The Ugly Truth a 7.9 overall.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.3
    Review
    May 29, 20130

    168. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

    8.5
    Review
    December 31, 20130

    400. Gone With The Wind (1939)

    8.3
    Review
    April 21, 20190

    2528. Loro (2018)

    8.1
    Review
    April 24, 20180

    2126. Hercules (1997)

    8.3
    Review
    November 7, 20200

    3145. Abigail’s Party (1977)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.