The Ugly Truth

Probably the reason the Women's Health advice-column-reading "office girl" crowd hated this movie so much is that it essentially dismisses and mocks the "Tips to Scoring a Man with a Good Job" talk show hooey they thrive on, when not revelling in the impropriety of having Katherine Heigl repeatedly say "cock." It's a slightly misanthropic R-rated affair that doesn't mask the unflattering simplicity of heterosexual relationships, wherein men try to replace their mothers with women to show off in public and women look for men that will care for their babies and not pee on the floor. Robert Luketic, hot off blackjack "epic" 21, directs the Grey's Anatomy star as a type-A television producer whose orderly life is thrust into chaos when the chauvinistic Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler) is brought onto her morning show to dispense gems of hostile relationship wisdom. Initially, he helps her bag the dream guy of her many checklists - a typically boring gym-bunny doctor full of protein shakes of many varieties - only to discover the true feelings underneath his many comments about her wet crotch and masturbatory predilections. Sure, it's predictable and frequently convoluted but few romantic comedies can boast the gifting of vibrating panties from leading man to lady to aid with her "bean." There's even a bit of Cyrano de Bergerac tossed in for good measure, only with less poetry and more "stick out your tits." While the comic talents of Cheryl Hines and John Michael Higgins are mostly wasted, save a random discussion about a bird in a dressing room, the DVD gag reel and comedy featurette show many amusing outtakes, along with a profanity-spewing Butler inadvertently touching Heigl inappropriately and exclaiming, "Oh, did I just touch your tittie?" Alternate endings and deleted scenes are included as well, along with commentary on key scenes with Robert Luketic and producer Gary Lucchesi, where they discuss Heigl's similarities to Reese Witherspoon. Apparently, it's more than hair colour.