Movie Review: "The Ugly Truth"

We know all too well the anal, controlling, and socially awkward workaholic cat lady, and the know-it-all playboy who is too scared to commit to anything more than a one-night stand. She performs background checks on her dates and creates "talking points" lists, and he says things like "don't forget to swallow" and "you have to be two people: the librarian and the sinner". Either way, one, or both, always learns a hard lesson in love. In the case of Mike Chadway and Abby Richter, it's both. What do they learn? Neither of them "knows it all". Shocker.

In an attempt to validate his ego, Know-it-all Mike bets psycho-aggressive Abby that she can snag her hot doctor next door with his help. She reluctantly accepts, and gets thrown into a rollercoaster ride of mixed emotions and humiliating occurrences, from specious sexual activity publicized on a jumbo-screen at a baseball game to a public orgasm from vibrating panties – a gift from Mike – during an impromptu work dinner. Long story short, Mike teaches Abby the ins and outs of his trade, Abby snags her hot doctor next door, Mike falls for Abby in the process, Abby falls for Mike, and Mike keeps his mouth shut and walks away. Again… Shocker.

What makes this film even slightly appealing is the list of harebrained situations the duo gets wrapped up in, and the disastrous attempts they make to fix their failures. But what makes it compelling enough to sit through 90 minutes is the crass mouth on the strikingly handsome chauvinist pig and the reactions from an equally attractive, and nearly born-again-virgin control freak that's constantly on the verge of killing him.

Overall, the film was enjoyable, but could have used a couple more of Abby's inept dating escapades, a titillating scene or two supporting Mike's cultivated knowledge of, and experience with, the opposite sex; and considering the mouth on his oh-so-loveable character, a little less PG-13. Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler's chemistry is enticing, but not magnetic enough throughout the story. The set up, the back and forth banter, the love triangle, the sexual tension, and the end result are typical and predictable in any romantic comedy out there, but between the lines you still get an eye-opening, twisted perspective into "the ugly truth": men and women will never figure each other out, and it will always be fascinating to watch them try.

My Grade: B

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