Is 'The Ugly Truth' misogynistic?
How the new romantic comedy treats women
Robert Luketic's new romantic comedy The Ugly Truth is "sexist and misogynistic," said Melissa Silverstein in The Huffington Post. Starring Katherine Heigl as a "good at work but bad at life" TV producer, and Gerard Butler as a sexist cable-access show host who becomes involved with her, the movie is "riddled with clichés about competent women and how they are all control freaks, have cats, wear ponytails, wear comfortable clothes, don't masturbate, etc." (watch the trailer for The Ugly Truth).
"For a movie aimed primarily at a female audience," said Rene Rodriguez in The Miami Herald, "The Ugly Truth seems strangely intent on setting the women's movement back three or four decades." It's also strange that this movie was written by three women, and that Heigl "served as co-executive producer—with her mother!" And this is the same Katherine Heigl who "had the temerity to decry Knocked Up as sexist shortly after its release. Is this her idea of a corrective?"
Look, The Ugly Truth may be a "drearily formulaic romantic comedy" in which "the guy and the girl who hate each other" at first wind up together, said Christy Lemire in The Canadian Press, but it's little more than that. The film's "graphically sexual and profane dialogue" is merely "a transparent and desperate attempt at being edgy," but it's neither offensive nor amusing.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Grindr 'shared user HIV status' with ad firms, lawsuit claims
Speed Read LGBTQ dating app accused of breaching UK data protection laws in case filed at London's High Court
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
The best dog-friendly hotels around the UK
The Week Recommends Take a break with your four-legged friend in accommodation that offers you both a warm welcome
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Shopping trolleys: the new must-have accessory
Speed Read Sales are soaring as new designs help shed that old-fashioned image
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published