In times when men often have smoother cheeks than the women they date, the rules of romance have changed. Sensitive is in, rough is out. But Mike Chadway (Gerald Butler) has a time-tested theory of what men want. Beneath the veneer of soft and soulful, he believes, all men have only one thing on their minds. Or, is it two? "We all fall in love with t*ts and ar*e," he declares early. For him, that's the ugly truth that women chasing dreamboats constructed from paperback romantic novels must wake up to.

Film: The Ugly Truth (Romantic Comedy)
Cast: Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler, Eric Winter
Director: Robert Luketic
Duration: One hour and 35 minutes
Critic Rating:

Chadwick's own unshaven cheeks do need some serious pruning but the radio host is too busy being himself to care. When he joins a television station and meets Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl), his super efficient but romantically-deficient producer, sparks inevitably fly. To begin with, he puns, "I like women on top." At one point when she tells him, she had the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu on the show before, he asks, "who's that?"

What follows isn't unusual or unique. But The Ugly Truth remains appealing because it remains utterly faithful to its point of view. Director Robert Luketic's protagonist is everything a Hugh Grant of Notting Hill or Four Weddings and a Funeral is not. There's something roguishly charming about Chadway's unselfconsciousness and his political incorrectness.

Crackling with clever one-liners, the movie feeds on the frisson and energy of its main stars. Both Heigl (also one of the film's executive producers) and Butler display enough chemistry to light up the screen. And both seem to be relishing parts that fit them like neatly tailored suits.

Naturally, there's plenty of adult talk. But with a character like Chadway, who flaunts his chauvinism like Stallone parades his biceps, you expect that. And that's what distinguishes the movie from the dozens of romantic comedies that Hollywood churns out every season. Truth isn't always ugly or bitter. Sometimes it is just like a gently-flavoured orange soufflé.



Courtesy : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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