04 August 2009

The Ugly Truth

Directed by: Robert Luketic
Written by: Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
Full credits from IMDB

Katherine Heigl, star of The Ugly Truth, famously made a bit of a stink after she made Knocked Up, when she publicly accused that film of sexism. Good for her, I guess? But she loses any accrued feminist credibility when she makes tommyrot like this. After spending the whole movie trying to please her man, a bland to the point of irritating doctor (Days of Our Lives vet Eric Winter), by dressing sexily and playing coy, coquettish games, her character learns a lesson in the end to Be Herself. OK, I guess that’s empowering, but not only does it seem half-hearted, her True Self is like a caricature of The Shrew; in the movie she’s repeatedly defined as a “control freak,” which is just a euphemism for a bitch. Criticizing your boyfriend because he brought you un-chilled champagne doesn’t indicate a need to be in charge of the situation. It’s just ill mannered.

Keep reading my discussion with Benjamin Sutton at The L Magazine


Watch the trailer:

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