The Ugly Truth, 2009

Crazily enough, I liked it.

I'll do romantic comedies any day of the week provided I like the actors. I'm not convinced yet about Gerard Butler, but I'll watch Katherine Heigl do anything (so long as she promises never to work for Apatow again). She's just the snuggliest, most adorable woman. It's difficult to believe she struggles with romance given her face, her body, and overall warmth, but she manages to pull it off (just). Butler, on the other hand, I know little about, so seeing him as a pompous, chick-hating skunk was not so hard to believe. He did that really well.

So, basically, she's a news producer who wants to retain the seriousness of her program despite her bosses desiring a change to shift with the times -- i.e. to go for scandal over substance to gain ratings. The network brings on board Butler, host of a cable show called The Ugly Truth, which tells women and men like it is -- basically, Can't get a date? You're ugly. He describes the male psyche as lustful and not so smart, and informs Katherine that the perfect man does not exist. Men are all boobs and sex, not classical music and poetry. Katherine is furious, but realises he gets those ratings, and that means she keeps her job, so she runs with it -- not that she has to like it.

Then Katherine meets a potential good guy. To prove he knows how men and women operate, Butler makes a deal with her that if he tells her what to do as the relationship progresses, her date will fall for her head over heels. She agrees, and it works. But, drum roll, what happens when Butler-the-cynic starts to fall for Katherine-the-naive himself?

Standard rom-com hijinks ensue, but the writing here is crisp enough that, while standard, it's relatively enjoyable. For a rom-com, there's actually a lot of good stuff in here about men and women and their goals and values in relationships. Lots of home truths come out about how relationships start, why they fail, and what we think along the way. I, at least, found myself nodding in agreement with much of Butler's supposed cynical rantings. We really are very basic animals. But then, Katherine Heigl would probably make me see the bright side of life, too.