The Ugly Truth

Infused with a number of almost eye-rollingly hoary elements, The Ugly Truth remains a mildly diverting yet thoroughly uninvolving romantic comedy virtually from start to finish – with Gerard Butler’s expectedly charismatic performance standing as the film’s one overtly positive attribute. The storyline follows uptight television producer Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) as she finds herself forced to work with a boorish correspondent (Butler’s Mike Chadway) who’s been brought in to increase ratings, with Abby’s initial disgust eventually transforming into reluctant admiration as Mike teaches her how to win the affections of a hunky doctor (Eric Winter’s Colin). There’s little doubt that the initial emphasis on Abby and her hopelessly hackneyed exploits ensures that The Ugly Truth gets off to a decidedly underwhelming start, as Heigl proves consistently unable to transform her cardboard cutout of a character into a fully-realized figure worthy of the viewer’s sympathy (or even interest). The stagnant, stale atmosphere persists until Butler becomes an increasingly prominent force within the proceedings, after which point the focus shifts to Mike and Abby’s unapologetically wacky escapades (eg Abby, wearing an earpiece, receives advice from Mike while on a date) and the film temporarily emerges from its doldrums. Director Robert Luketic’s sitcom-like approach to the material subsequently fares best during this stretch, yet it’s just as clear that the filmmaker’s pervasively superficial approach ensures that the movie begins to seriously run out of steam as it passes the one hour mark – with the third act’s lamentably melodramatic bent essentially diminishing the effectiveness of the expectedly upbeat conclusion. The end result is an utterly tired romcom that admittedly benefits from Butler’s mere presence, although it’s clear from the get-go that the actor deserves better material than this.

** out of ****