Many would like to think they know the differences between men and women.
Some get planetary -- that whole Mars/Venus thing. Dr. Laura thinks she has her finger on the pulse of the whole mystery. And then there's Mike (Gerard Butler).
He's a plain-spoken (and by that, I mean vulgar and misogynistic) burly guy who believes he knows what women really want from men, and vice versa.
It's apparently to go back to the caveman days, grunt some guttural tripe and she's yours for the taking. Yes, friends -- THIS is the secret of "The Ugly Truth," with a focus on the UGLY part.
Katherine Heigl plays Abby, a morning TV producer in Sacramento whose ratings have tumbled. Management isn't happy. They've noticed a surge from a local free cable show called "The Ugly Truth" and hire its host to boost their ratings.
Abby considers herself a news purist and is repulsed by this arrogant oaf polluting her little program with frank talk about how to "get some."
Mike is so convinced he's right about the sexes that he vows to quit the show if he can't help the loveless Abby land a handsome doctor in a neighboring apartment.
Thus begins a series of Cyrano de Bergerac moments in which Mike is feeding info into Abby's ear to charm the pretty-boy doctor, each word more ridiculous and cruder than the previous.
A handful of far-fetched notions have to be floated out there for you to buy into this movie. The first is that Katherine Heigl can't find a boyfriend. Please. The second is that several women burned Gerard Butler and that's why he's such a pig. Right. And the third is, television news can't cut away from a live broadcast when the language or subject material turns objectionable. Really?
Aside from all that, I'm sure there is a sweet little romantic comedy in there somewhere, but all of the vulgarity feels grossly out of place and calls way too much attention to itself.
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