The Vulgar Truth

UntitledThe last thing you’d expect in a romance comedy with Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler is obsessive vulgarity, but that’s exactly what’s present in “The Ugly Truth.” While the majority of it is funny and outrageous, much of it feels out of place and hurts an otherwise enjoyable, yet predicable movie experience.

As adorable as Heigl is as TV producer Abby, some of her scenes feel forced and she’s not as solid as she was in films like “Knocked Up.” A woman, that despite her good looks, can’t find a man, mostly due to her controlling tendencies and insistence on perfection, Abby is in desperate need of a wake-up call. Nevertheless, her quirkiness is a treat and something that the film could have built off of more.

Sure, this is a coming of age film, where Heigl changes herself for a man, before realizing she’s got to change for herself, but seeing her use the work “cock” five or six times in a minute during this transition isn’t funny- it’s obsessive and raunchy for the sake of being obsessive and raunchy.

“The Proposal” this is not.

The problems with the dialog hurt the film, but the plot is haphazard as well, creating a one-two punch that regulates the film to the mediocre. Predictably, it’s not too long after a bad date that Mike, played by Gerard Butler comes along and rocks Abby’s world with his potty mouth and complete opposite thinking when it comes to relationships. Hurt in the past, Mike has given up on love and is now the host of a small local cable access show where he vents his frustration on the opposite sex.

If this doesn’t smell cookie cutter yet, then you’ve never been in a bakery before.

Strangely enough though, this persona is a perfect fit for Butler, who in spite of battling his accent at times, is great as the macho dude with the heart of gold. The problems with the script and plot development don’t damper his star presence as much as they do Heigl’s, who isn’t in her element. It’s Butler’s performance that makes the film a decent comedy despite how good Heigl looks throughout. Unlike her, Butler’s vulgarity is smirk inducing, as he does well as a man that says what ever is on his mind when it comes to women and draws plenty of laughs throughout the film.

As a pair, the two are adorable and make the film a fun little escape, but it’s too flawed overall to be something special. The supporting cast is filled with solid actors the likes of Cheryl Hines, Bree Turner and John Michael Higgins, but it’s not enough, as everything just seems to fall into its pretty little place and everything works out in the end.

In the end, it’s like a cross between “The 40-year-old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” without the sexiness and unpredictability that made them both excellent rom-coms.

While it’s fun for a date movie and will create several attempts to throw your arm around your mate or squeeze their hand in laughter, as a film for a serious movie-goer, it’s undoubtedly passable. Two good-looking people and a workable supporting cast can’t make up for such a generic and linear script.

Not even Heigl’s hilarious dance moves can do that.

enablingTruth be told, this is a a masterpiece of semi-disappointment.

The makes of a phenomenal cast with only a few good laughs are present, but lack the depth and polish to make the most of things. Heigl’s character, Abby was beautiful and successful, but terrible at relationships. [Big shocker there.] Instead of charming, her quirky behavior wasn’t as endearing as one would hope. Her opposite and very much charismatic male counter-part, Mike [Butler], was the savior of this over-the-top rom-com. His misogynistic opinions and scruffy good looks would make anyone love and hate him all at once. This somewhat saves the film, but again it’s lacking in too many other areas.

If you’re good at predicting plots [heck, even if you’re not good] you’ll surely feel like an expert on this one. The script was stale though raunchy, or maybe the delivery was just off. Despite this, Heigl has never looked better. Hopefully her next attempt is for the better.

-Sherrie Ocasio

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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