The Ugly Truth
The Ugly Truth has heavily promoted its dazzling stars Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. Although Butler’s biggest money maker is as the lead six pack in 300, lately he’s really shown his chops doing comedy both edgy and romantic. Here he’s kind of both as Mike, a TV host with a complete lack of a feminine side who does a salty cable men’s advice show in the nose bleed section of the broadcast spectrum. Heigl makes another good choice here in her transition from TV to movie star playing Abby, the tightly wound producer of a local network affiliate newsmagazine with high ideals and low audience numbers. She’s mortified when her boss hires Mike to do a segment on the show and her blood temperature escalates in proportion to his skyrocketing ratings. The lovelorn Abby accepts a challenge from Mike that he’ll quit if his advice doesn’t snare Colin (Eric Winter) a handsome doctor who just moved into her complex. Under his tutelage Abby’s rage cools but as she gets lucky in love Mike realizes she’s changing his attitude towards women in general and one woman in particular. The Ugly Truth is ironic from the casting of Heigl and Butler who between them don’t possess an ounce of ugly right through to where the native Glaswegian in a more than passable neutral North American accent admonishes her for doing a bad Scottish brogue. The truth is that this movie delivers a delightful ball of summertime cotton candy distraction.