Movie Reviews The Ugly Truth

The ugly truth about The Ugly Truth is that most critics hate it. And since most critics are men, many of them are expressing surprise at the high raunch factor in a movie written by women. And they are finding a sympathetic ear from their female colleagues. For example, Manohla Dargis writes in the New York Times that the movie represents "a cynical, clumsy, aptly titled attempt to cross the female-oriented romantic comedy with the male-oriented gross-out comedy that is interesting on several levels, none having to do with cinema." Rafer Guzmán in Newsday agrees, writing "A romantic comedy written by three women and directed by a man, The Ugly Truth does a disservice to both genders. Its crass sex jokes feel like chum for mentally stunted males, while its dimwitted storyline seems aimed at females who find paperback romances overly nuanced. It's doubtful these demographics even exist outside the filmmakers' cynical imaginations." Similarly Liam Lacey writes in the Toronto Globe and Mail "Contrived as a crossover between a female-friendly romantic comedy and a male-targeted, anti-political correctness jab, The Ugly Truth veers between crude and cloying." And Lou Lumenick in the New York Post sums up "Few recent Hollywood products have been anywhere near as crass and contrived as The Ugly Truth ."

Note A summary of reviews of Orphan will appear here on Monday.

24/07/2009