The Ugly Truth is a painful movie to watch because it has so many elements of success, and none of the payoff. It builds hope with its blockbuster stars, its cute romcom concept, and its perfectly formulaic trailer. But The Ugly Truth is not a good movie. It's also not a bad movie. It's halfhearted at best and misguided at worst.
Heigl and Butler Looked Better on Paper
Katherine Heigl is not one of this film's problems. Beautiful, talented, and memorable, in another age she would have been a legendary star, but has thus far been relegated to television and second rate romance. She is by far the best this film has to offer, throwing charm and appeal around like optimistic pixie dust. Unfortunately she is not quite able to save it, and falls just short of being able to carry this film, or make this weak material affecting.
On a more positive note, this is certainly better than her last romcom, 27 Dresses, which seemed to be trying to emulate every classic chick flick imaginable and failing on every account. It did not possess a single original story line, but simply borrowed from so many that the whole thing was unbearably messy. Compared to that, The Ugly Truth doesn’t seem half bad.
Gerard Butler, in the same way, falls victim to this script. He doesn't seem comfortable in this role, apparently having played the strong silent alpha male for too long. He never adjusts to the new character, who is meant to be wounded, rude, and extremely caustic. Perhaps it is this discomfort, more than anything else, which causes their on screen chemistry to seem hollow and contrived.
The Romcom's Identity Crisis
The Ugly Truth suffers from the fatal fault that finds so many romcoms these days; it tries to achieve connections and heart warming sentiment in an age when romance is becoming an outdated concept in Hollywood. Shows like Sex and the City have dealt some crucial blows to idealism and feel-good moments, which is preceisely what this film needs.
To adjust to the times, writer Karen McCullah Lutz has added as much sex-related humor as possible. Not only does this give the film an uneven tone, but it also does not achieve the feel or relevancy that Lutz was apparently hoping for. There are so many sex jokes during the supposed bonding scenes that the couple barely has any time for emotions. All in all, the romcom label hardly applies.
