The Ugly Truth

Mondays tend to be ugly days. A Monday is a cold, hard slap of reality after a fun-filled weekend. I’m not a “Monday” person. I’m a “Friday” — or better yet, “Saturday” — kind of gal.

I can think of nothing better to do on a Monday night than a Friday night activity. It’s like tricking yourself into thinking the weekend isn’t quite over yet. So, I met up with one of my dearest friends for a mini girls night out at Studio Movie Grill. We watched “The Ugly Truth” directed by Legally Blonde’s Robert Luketic and starring Katherine Heigl with Gerard Butler.

I was a bit leery of this film because it opened with harsh reviews. However, since romantic comedies aren’t known for their literary (or creative) genius, I decided to be open-minded and hope for the best. After all, the trailors were cute, I like the actors playing the main characters, and I had been looking forward to watching it before I read the reviews.

The movie is a classic “battle of the sexes” story. IMDB.com provides the following summary, “Katherine Heigl stars as a lovelorn television producer who’s made to run a gauntlet of romantic exploits by a pig-headed morning-show host (played by Gerard Butler) as a way to prove whose romantic methods are more accurate.” It’s not a great description, but it’s pretty accurate. This new morning-show host shows up and shakes up Abby’s (Katherine Heigl’s) life — much to her dismay. He’s crude, rude, and a complete jerk, but some of his remarks about male/female relationships have a hint of truth to them, even if it does happen to be the “ugly truth.” Eventually, the two characters embark on an experiment to see whose methods work best. That’s when things start to get funny.

This movie was entertaining from start-to-finish, and it had some genuine “laugh out loud” moments. Once again, I’m glad I didn’t listen to the critics. Yes, some of the humor is crude and maybe a bit shocking at times (rated R for sexual content and language), but I never found it offensive. It’s not a movie for kids, but if you can overlook some of the language and a few crude jokes, you will enjoy it. If not, don’t go.

As for me, I enjoyed it, and I’m not alone.  Viewers on Rotten Tomatoes also disagreed with the critics and gave it a 63% fresh rating.  I’m giving it a solid B+.