The Ugly Truth

If there's one thing Hollywood-style romcoms have in common, it's their ability to leave you feeling optimistic, hopeful and just down-right giddy with whimsical notions of the possibility of happy endings (of the fairytale kind). I love them.

Last night I took a group of friends off to a preview screening of The Ugly Truth, starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler.

Here's how imdb.com describes the plot: A romantically challenged morning show producer (Heigl) is reluctantly embroiled in a series of outrageous tests by her chauvinistic correspondent (Butler) to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love. His clever ploys, however, lead to an unexpected result.

I'm not sure if whoever wrote the above actually saw the movie. For starters, there was nothing unexpected about the result. I mean, c'mon - how do all romcoms end? And that's exactly what I love about them. No hidden surprises, no plot twists. Instead, there's lots of longing, lingering looks by smouldering lead characters, witty one-liners, cliched support cast, and the token exposed bit of flesh to get the women in the audience all hot and bothered.

I'm a big fan of Heigl (27 Dresses and Knocked Up are two of my favourites) and I have a teeny tiny crush on Butler (PS I Love You and Rock'n'Rolla are also on my favourites list), so it would be fair to say I was just a little excited to see The Ugly Truth. I expected a witty battle of the sexes and I wasn't disappointed. Butler's chauvinistic, sexist, yet brutally honest delivery of his character, Mike, was as tacky as it was sexy (we all like a bad guy); while Heigl's portrayal of Abby left me cringing in points and wanting to slap her (and breathing a sigh of relief that I'm not as cynical and jaded as her... yet), but I couldn't help but celebrate her little romantic triumphs along the way.

A little quirky fact I came across was that when the movie was distributed to cinemas, it was labelled under the code name "Helpful Advice". Very cute.

The great thing about The Ugly Truth is that girls finally have a romcom they can drag the boys along to, and they are likely to equally enjoy it. If only for the eternally memorable and deliciously hilarious restaurant scene that outdoes Meg Ryan's infamous scene in When Harry Met Sally.

So, if I'm evaluating this movie based on what I think makes a great romcom - then it's a hit. It's going on the favourites list. I loved it.