The Ugly Truth - BD
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Page 1 of 3 Sony / 96 Minutes / 2009 / Rated R / Street Date: November 10, 2009
The grandest part about The Ugly Truth for this writer is its setting. I suppose anybody living outside the greater Los Angeles or New York city limits might find it charming when a big-profile Hollywood blockbuster takes place in their town, but I have to tell you - when I saw that The Ugly Truth was set in my old stomping grounds of Sacramento, CA, I got stoked. Finally, I'd see major movie stars walking near the state capital, hanging out on a houseboat on the American River, grabbing a quick drink at the Tallac Lounge in Tahoe Park: For ninety cinematic minutes, I could head home. Alas, while The Ugly Truth's second unit material has quite a bit of Sac in it, the film itself is definitely Hollywood-posing-as-Sacramento (IMDB doesn't even list anywhere outside L.A. as a shooting location). So it goes without saying that when I saw The Ugly Truth in cinemas, I was cranky about it, and on Blu-ray Disc, my crankiness continued. But disappointment with the film goes far more than its quasi-Sacramento fakings: This Katherine Heigl/Gerard Butler is a been-there-done-that romantic comedy that hits all its obvious narrative buttons on its way to an obvious conclusion. Ready for the twist of this one? Katherine plays a business-minded girl who still believes in love, and Gerard Butler plays a mean ol' bachelor whose devotion is to one-night-stands and an amorous port in every storm. Against their will, they have to work together - she produces his talk-show segment on a local news broadcast - and I'll give you three guesses as to whether they end up together. I'm a fan of the romantic comedy, to be sure, but holy cripes: We've seen this one about 300,000 times already, haven't we?
As far as star power goes, I'm not sure exactly where Heigl's appeal lies - her role on Grey's Anatomy was rich and multi-faceted until around season three when the show creators cocked it all up, making her a ranting banshee of a philanderer - and in The Ugly Truth, she has some moments where her charm shines through, but for the most part, she's on autopilot. Ditto for Gerard Butler, who, in spite of his newfound stardom (I, for one, think he's the real deal), slides through this film with minimal impact or presence. The Ugly Truth did pretty good business this summer (almost $200 million worldwide), but compared to newer RomComs like The Proposal, it's old-hat at best. Maybe if they'd actually shot a scene or two at the Tallac Lounge.... |
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