Go See 'The Ugly Truth'!
“Guys are like dogs, waiting to be let out of a car.”
– Jim Carrey
This is a quote from an old stand-up video of Jim Carrey where, if I remember correctly, he was walking around bent over backwards at the waist, demonstrating how his crotch would introduce itself to women at bars. A crude representation, to be sure, but for better or worse, there is a significant amount of truth to it. The Ugly Truth, appropriately, focuses on this curious little aspect of male psychology, magnifies it for effect, and then reminds us even amidst shocking misogyny that women are exactly the same. Only different. Know what I mean?The cruel dichotomy of dating, as explained by the movie, is that men are obsessed with sex, while women are obsessed with other equally superficial things like good looks and financial success. Both perspectives are right on the mark, and don’t get all offended, ladies and gentlemen, you know I’m right. I was genuinely amazed at how much I enjoyed the movie, because my romantic comedy tolerance level seems to have been flat-lining in recent months, but even though the movie displays a cookie-cutter formula with cookie-cutter characters, it’s one of the most daring and interesting and genuinely hilarious romances I’ve seen in years.
Ok, so here’s the plot in 100 words (which is about ten times as many as is generally needed for a formulaic romantic comedy) – Abby (Katherine Heigl) is a rising television producer who is struggling with hard times at the station. Mike (Gerard Butler) is a professional womanizer who runs a talk show based on the amount of problems that would be avoided if men and women would both stop lying and just be honest about what they really want from each other. Abby discovers and is disgusted by Mike’s show immediately before her higher-ups bring him in to boost their ratings, and a war of their worlds begins. Throw in Abby’s neighbor Colin, an impossibly perfect suitor, and let the predictability begin, right?
Well, sort of. Sadly I have nothing to say in defense of the overall predictability of The Ugly Truth. But the movie as a whole is so much fun that I am willing to forgive the all too familiar character arcs. More importantly, believe it or not, it is actually a very thorough and interesting analysis of the psychological workings of the male and female dating animals. It will look like the movie (written by three women, by the way) is just trying to demonize men and their sexual drive, but ultimately it makes a uniquely entertaining and, I would argue, culturally relevant exploration of the true motives coiling beneath the surface of our highly polished dating facades.
Here, I have even developed a little experiment for you. Ladies, if you’re not sure if your date or boyfriend or husband is one of the typical sex-obsessed males as described in the movie, here’s how you can find out:
[caption id="attachment_47340" align="alignright" width="350" caption="Dating 101 - Let the games begin..."]
[/caption]About midway through the movie, there is a scene where Abby and Mike are in a bar together. Abby is describing some of the good qualities of life in the Sacramento area, while Mike is checking out a hot redhead in a slutty outfit near the bar. Just after she finishes talking, the camera cuts away from the redhead at the bar and shows Abby’s face looking at Mike, who she knows hasn’t heard a thing she said. At exactly this moment, turn to your date and ask him what Abby just said.
If he lists off everything she just said, he’s either crazy in love with you or he's gay. If he can’t name a single one, he’s a sex-obsessed cretin the likes of which you should never bring home to mom (if you’re already married, then I’m sorry to have had to force you to make this horrible discovery). If he can only name one or two, I would argue he’s about normal. Personally, I couldn’t remember anything specific, but I did know that she was talking about the benefits of Sacramento life, and I think that should count for something.
Besides, the second the movie cut from the bar girl to Abby’s face, I knew exactly what they were trying to do, and it taught me something about myself, and when was the last time you saw a romantic comedy that taught you something about yourself?I don’t remember the last time I experienced that, but even if you don’t have any personal revelations, and even though the movie is overflowing with profanity and crude sexual humor, it is one of the best romantic comedies I've seen in recent memory, and I would even argue that it's a great date movie, as long as it's not a first date. It's definitely not a light-hearted romantic comedy, but in a genre that is vastly over-populated with the light of heart, this is very much a good thing.
The Bean Meter
[caption id="attachment_47342" align="aligncenter" width="303" caption="4 Beans out of 5."]
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