Last weekend a couple of buddies dragged me out to see the Ugly Truth. I hadn't heard anything about, but was prepared to give it a go, being a fan of Katherine Heigl's work so far and lovin' Gerard Butler in Phantom of the Opera.
I loved it. I mean, really loved it. In the past 10 days, I've seen in 3 times. Something about it really appeals to me on a level I can't explain.
Perhaps it's due to the ongoing problems The Fiancee and I keep having, perhaps because I know girls like the main character. Perhaps it's just that I hate most romantic comedies, finding them to set up women for unrealistic expectations on how men in love behave.
The Ugly Truth isn't so much a romantic comedy, as a comedy about romance. One friend describes is as 'the anti-chick flick.' Another calls it 'a romantic comedy for guys.' All these descriptions are true. Admittedly the formula is predictable, but oddly enough it's kinda thought provoking. Or maybe it just hit home because of the Problems (yeah, they deserve a capital) in my own relationship.
What really surprised me was the reviews. One star. Two stars. Comments saying it 'fails in it's objective.' Claims of 'unoriginal.' Comparing a particular scene to a famous scene from a classic romantic comedy. Yet not one person I know of who has seen it, has had any complaints. Several of them has said that it's made them think about their own relationships, current and past which is big thing for a run of the mill romantic comedy to do.
Maybe, like the rest of us, the reviewers found something in the movie hit home and couldn't handle it.
I think you have a good point about the reviewers. Almost all the reviews I have read were really bad, but my experience in the movie theater was that everyone was laughing all through the movie and were still chuckling when they were walking out the door. If all it was after was entertainment, it managed to do that for most people. If it had the effect of making people think about their relationships, that was just a bonus.
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