The truth about the adult romantic comedy “The Ugly Truth” isn't all that ugly.
Familiar and predictable, yes it is. But also entertaining and funny. Katherine Heigl (“Grey's Anatomy”) and Gerard Butler (“Phantom of the Opera”) are very easy on the eyes and have terrific onscreen chemistry in this opposites-attract trifle.
In fact, the movie reminded me a lot of “The Proposal,” in which Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock begin with a similar antagonistic relationship and back into romance despite their better instincts.
Both movies have so-so scripts that are elevated by the personal magnetism and talent of their stars, plus a competent director (in this case, Robert Luketic, “Legally Blonde”). The difference is that this one's rated R, though it's not a total raunchfest.
Heigl plays Abby, a morning television producer in Sacramento battling dismal ratings and having little luck finding Mr. Right.
Abby's desperate boss hires a chauvinistic Neanderthal named Mike (Butler), who spouts outrageous, cynical ideas about men and women and relationships in daily on-air segments called “The Ugly Truth.”
Abby can't stand Mike. Mike strikes a deal with Abby: If he helps her snag a man — specifically the hunky doctor she's discovered next door (Eric Winter, “Days of Our Lives”) — she must help Mike get ahead on TV. If he fails, he'll quit.
Abby, a control freak with a 10-point checklist for any potential mate, has trouble swallowing Mike's dating rules: Never criticize. (“Not even when it's constructive?” she protests.) Never talk about your problems. Change the way you look and act, becoming a cross between a librarian and a stripper.
Though Mike's methods seem to work, both he and Abby discover a trite movie lesson about how good relationships come from being yourself.
But we have some fun watching them wise up.
When Abby climbs a tree in her nightie (yeah, right) to rescue her cat, she spies the doctor getting out of the shower. Branches breaking under spies in trees are as old as talkies, and it isn't really credible that he'd dash outside in only a towel to rescue her. But a dropped towel is still good for a laugh and flash of nudity.
TV stations in a market the size of Sacramento can't afford luxury hotel suites, either, but they're nice to look at.
The biggest laughs come from a sequence in which Abby suffers (sort of) through a business dinner after the remote control for a vibrating pair of panties falls into the wrong hands.
The biggest steam heat comes from a salsa dance between Abby and Mike in which their real feelings surface.
And the biggest truth about “The Ugly Truth” is that it's worth the ticket price, if you can handle a little dirty talk, a threadbare premise and a movie that aims only to make you laugh or swoon.
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