The Ugly Truth is in danger of being seen as just another chick flick. It contains all the ingredients that make up your typical chick flick. There are two guys and one girl. The ending is as predictable as ever. And, like many movies before it such as the recent movie He’s just not that into you, The Ugly Truth gives women advise on dating from a man’s point of view.
However, the typical beautiful, blonde woman and strong, handsome man lead this romantic comedy down a slightly new path. The conversations that take place between Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler’s characters, Abby and Mike, are a little more on the racy side than your average chick flick.
The movie’s trailer didn’t give away its secret weapon against critics who love to rave about “chick flicks all being the same”: the movies explicit nature. Sex is discussed in a way that makes it simply a meaningless act rather than an act of love. It is spoken about without restrain; no area of the topic is out of bounds. While many of the scenes, such as the one where Abby battles a vibrator while at a restaurant with her bosses, may seem like desperate attempts to get a laugh, they are successful.
Abby is your typical desperate woman who wants to find the perfect man to love her. Mike contests that her idea of love and anyone’s idea of love in fact, doesn’t exist. He claims that love isn’t real, but like the usual leading lady, Abby refuses to believe this. An ever common battle of the sexes takes place, and Abby eventually takes Mike’s advice on board in order to win over the “guy of her dreams”.
Gerard Butler is given all the racy, exciting and entertaining lines with Katherine Heigl is left to be like a puppy obeying his every word, doing as he says. The movie reads like a ‘How To’ guide for making men want you. Many women may be slightly misled into turning themselves into duplicates of this artificial woman described by Mike that men supposedly want, rather than being the beautiful women that they truly are.
The movie, while an unexpectedly racy and explicit one, is successfully funny with Gerard Butler’s character winning points from the shocking, yet hilarious things he says. Katherine Heigl plays her role well and portrays the desperate but essentially strong woman perfectly.
Picture sources (consecutively):
http://www.jackbook.com/movies/watch-the-ugly-truth-stream-online
http://lodim.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/the-ugly-truth-2009/
http://movies.tvguide.com/ugly-truth/photos/298098/1
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