Ah The Ugly Truth… women fall head over heels and men fall for women that wear nothing but heels. The whole intergalactic “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” game of cat-and-mouse has been discussed at length and there just doesn’t seem to be a light (or even a candle-lit dinner) at the end of the tunnel of love.

Well, that’s what we thought until we watched What Women Want, a “documentary” with Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson as he discovered he had the gift to understand the fairer sex after waxing his legs.  The Ugly Truth exposes the flip side of the coin and girls you’re not going to like it. Prince Charming is dead, long live King Leonadis… or in this case Mike -played by Gerard “THIS IS SPAR-TA” Butler.

Catch the rest of the review and the trailer after the jump…

He’s a guy, who likes to call it as it is… call it chauvinism, call it machismo… whatever it is, it’s just plain nasty. Butler demonstrates his amazing range as he bridges the divide between gung-ho action films like RocknRolla and 300 with soppier lead romantic appearances in P.S. I Love You and now The Ugly Truth.

Katherine Heigl creates an eclectic mix for The Ugly Truth from two of her recent starring roles in 27 Dresses and Knocked Up, as Abby. She’s a producer at a local news network and she also happens to be a Britney Spears meets Gwyneth Paltrow bombshell of the bottle blonde persuasion. Heigl’s a contender and has enough charm to pull off the laughs and swoons at the right moments like a boxer fighting with pom-poms.

The game of love gets a spin as relational uglinesses surface in Abby’s attempt to win the affection of her Doctor-slash-Model-slash-Neighbour. Mike steps in as a hairy Cupid as he tries to give her the “What Guys Want” makeover without the easy-to-follow “let hair down, take glasses off” recipe.

The Ugly Truth isn’t going to blow your socks off and starts with a bang only to leave you nestled between Venus’s fairy cushions once again (all puns intended). This romantic comedy is R-rated (2-16) and for good reason with plenty of potty mouth and several scenes that leave little to the imagination.

The movie incorporates “Anchormanesque” drama as sparks fly in the news room, where Mike and Abby battle for supremacy like Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate, as Ron Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone. The roles of career-orientated men and women are contrasted sharply, as the time-honoured line between love and hate gets a fresh coat of paint. Although, it’s fairly typical romantic comedy terrain with a new “pomping” ground and fresh take on the dating game.

It’s not called The Ugly Truth for nothing and things do get ugly… but thankfully not ugly enough to top the gross-out comedy in There’s Something About Mary or the perversity of American Psycho. Butler and Heigl have great on-screen chemistry and look good together in a Dharma & Greg kind of way. The new angle gives the tired love triangle a ninja star edge, which is bolstered by Knocked Up’s agility when it comes to comedy. While the dialogue could have been much wittier, it’s the romantic insight and situational comedy that succeeds in The Ugly Truth.

The movie tip-toes the line with plenty of bad language and some controversial interpretations when it comes to love in the 21st Century. However, the dirty baby gets thrown out with the bath water in favour of a more conventional resolution. This makes the whole tawdry affair seem way too predictable, but isn’t that what audiences expect from romantic comedies these days?

The movie takes a while to get going comedically, but has enough Butler/Heigl chemistry and “romcom” formula to keep aloft until a rather shaggy and abrupt conclusion. Eric Winter shows off as the ideal hunk and check list guy, while John Michael Higgins and Cheryl Hines play a funny duo in supporting acts as a news anchor couple.

The Ugly Truth is that this chick flick also works for guys with its brash comedy and sexual curiosity. The cast hold everything together to deliver a decent, entertaining piece of soft focus Hollywood under the watchful eye of Robert Luketic (21, Legally Blonde). It’s a third-or-fourth-date kind of movie, which makes some humourous and interesting gender observations, while keeping within the confines of the “romcom” genre.

The bottom line: Cheeky.

Release date: 9 October, 2009

Watch Official The Ugly Truth Trailer

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