The Ugly Truth
In this battle-of-the-sexes comedy, Katherine Heigl plays an uptight TV producer desperate to get a man.
Directed by Robert Luketic
(R)
*
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.
Another case of opposites attracting
The Ugly Truth is “all ugly, no truth,” said Richard Corliss in Time. In this battle-of-the-sexes comedy, Katherine Heigl plays an uptight TV producer desperate to get a man. So she seeks advice from her show’s boorish commentator (Gerard Butler), who has a Cro-Magnon take on dating. Written by three women and directed by a man, the film could have been a 21st-century, tell-it-like-it-is take on romance, but instead it winds up an “unplanned essay in misogyny.” When not being bullied by her supposed love interest, Heigl delivers “witless” banter, said Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune. Aside from the raunchy sex jokes, the film “feels about 150 years out of date.” It’s as if the filmmakers were determined to set the women’s movement back several decades, said Leah Rozen in People. The Ugly Truth settles for stereotypes instead of capturing how men and women truly interact today. Indeed, the only truth revealed is that “making a successful romantic comedy is even harder” than finding true love.
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
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AI
Feature Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises
By The Week US Published
-
George Foreman: The boxing champ who reinvented home grills
Feature He helped define boxing’s golden era
By The Week US Published