A sexy, raunchy and hilarious romantic comedy that looks and sounds incredible on Blu-ray. Those who enjoyed “The Ugly Truth” will definitely enjoy this solid Blu-ray release!
TITLE: The Ugly Truth
DURATION: 96 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:40:1), English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English -Audio Description Track, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
RATED: R (Sexual Content and Language)
COMPANY: Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 10, 2009
Directed by Robert Luketic
Screenplay by Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
Story by Nicole Eastman
Executive Producer: Katherine Heigl, Nancy Heigl, Karen McCullah Lutz, Eric Reid
Producer: Kimberly di Bonaventura, Gary Lucchesi, Steven Reuther, Debora Jelin Newmeyer, Tom Rosenberg, Kirsten Smith
Music by Aaron Zigman
Cinematography by Russell Carpenter
Edited by Lisa Zeno Churgin
Casting by Deborah Aquila, Jennifer L. Smith, Mary Tricia Wood
Production Design by Missy Stewart
Set Decoration by Kathy Lucas
Costume Design by Bets Heimann
Starring:
Catherine Heigl as Abby Richter
Gerard Butler as Mike Chadway
Bree Turner as Joy
Eric Winter as Colin
Nick Searcy as Stuart
Jesse D. Goins as Cliff
Cheryl Hines as Georgia
John Michael Higgins as Larry
Noah Matthews as Jonah
Bonnie Somervile as Elizabeth
John Sloman as Bob
Yvette Nicole Brown as Dori
Nathan Corddry as Josh
The romantic sex comedy “The Ugly Truth” was a Summer hit and became actress Katherine Heigl’s (“Grey’s Anatomy”, “27 Dresses”, “Knocked Up”) latest film to become a box office hit earning over $193 million worldwide.
“The Ugly Truth” is directed by Robert Luketic (“21”, “Legally Blonde”) and featured a screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz (“10 Things I Hate About You” TV series, “The House Bunny”, “Legally Blonde”) and Kirsten Smith (“The House Bunny”, “Legally Blonde”, “Ella Enchanted”).  The film features music by composer Aaron Zigman (“The Proposal”, “My Sister’s Keeper”, “Madea Goes to Jail”) and cinematographer Russell Carpenter (“21”, “Titanic”, “Charlie’s Angels” films).
The film revolves around a Sacramento-based morning show that is being slaughtered in the ratings. Producer Abby Richter (played by Katherine Heigl) feels that she is doing a very good at her job but with ratings slipping, her job is on the line.
Meanwhile, her love life is not exactly going that great. Having really no major experience with men, she has been trying online dating sites to no avail. Frustrated by her date, when she returns home, her pet cat accidentally hits a remote control and the channel is changed to “The Ugly Truth”, a show hosted by Mike Chadway (played by Gerard Butler, “300”, “The Phantom of the Opera”, “Beowulf and Grendel”).
Mike is popular for his love advice that he gives to men and women and how they can easily get laid. His advice turns Abby off and prompts her to call him and tell her that he is wrong which leads to Mike telling her that she can’t get laid because she’s ugly.
When Abby goes to work the following day, she finds out from her boss that Mike has been hired by the morning show to bring his version of “The Ugly Truth” to their morning show to help bring up the ratings.
On his first appearance, Mike tries to fix the tension my husband and wife hosts Larry (played by John Michael Higgins, “Kath & Kim”, “Raising the Bar”) and Georgia (played by Cheryl Hines, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “In the Motherhood”) by telling them live on the show that they don’t have great sex and they need to work on it because its evident that their tension is because of it. And while the show is live, both husband and wife start making out. The result of Mike’s appearance is positive as the show earned higher ratings and better feedback from its viewers.
Not so thrilled and somewhat repulsed by Mike, Abby knows that she has to be nice to him since he is responsible for the show’s turnaround in the ratings. But Mike knows that Abby is having problems in her love life and so, he decides to help her get a man by giving her advice. From dressing sexy and not look so conservative but a woman that can get a guy in bed.
Sure enough, the advice that Abby has received from Mike works. But while Mike tries to give advice to her, he finds himself attracted to Abby.
Will Mike continue to help Abby progress with her love life to another man or will he let her know his feelings towards her?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“The Ugly Truth” is featured in 1080p High Definition (aspect ration of 2:40:1) and for the most part, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment delivers with an impressive film which showcases clarity, vibrancy and plenty of detail. The film has a fine layer of grain, blacks are well done but for the most part, as expected from a talented cinematographer such as Titanic’s Russell Carpenter, “The Ugly Truth” is absolutely beautiful on High Definition.
As for audio, the film is presented in English, French and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA (also, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and an English-Audio Description track). “The Ugly Truth” sounds absolutely beautiful with its lossless track. Dialogue and music is front and center channel but is for the most part crystal clear. Also, a good presence of the surround channels with one scene featuring Thunder which reverberates through the soundscape, a baseball game with the ambiance of the crowd, a restaurant scene with buzzing vibration sounds to the ambiance in areas where there are people all around. For the most part, surround usage is well done as you can hear the sounds all around you.
But one thing that “The Ugly Truth” is known for is its use of modern music. From Kate Perry’s “Hot n’ Cold”, Flo Rida’s “Right Round”, Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine” and the Latin music by Los Pinguos, the music is crystal clear with a good amount of bass and sounds absolutely beautiful via the film’s lossless soundtrack.
Subtitles for “The Ugly Truth” are in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Ugly Truth” special features are in High Definition, English (Stereo) and with Spanish, Portuguese subtitles
- movieIQ – Watch the film with movieIQ which allows viewers to connect to the Internet to access real-time information on the cast, music and trivia. A BD-Live enabled player is needed to use this selection.
- Select Scenes Commentary with Director Robert Luketic and Producer Gary Lucchesi – (51:14) Featuring 10 select scenes with commentary: Opening Sequence, Mike’s First Broadcast, Abby Meets Colin, Mike Coaches Abby, The Baseball Game, Vibrating Panties, The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Mike and Abby Dance, Mike’s Disappointment, The Hot Air Balloon.
- Deleted and Extended Scenes – (16:22) Featuring the following six deleted and extended scenes – Date with Great Gasby Guy – Extended, Dear Mike, “no date tonight?”, “A fine line between adorable and retarded.”, Dating Colin-extended, Morning Madness/Balloon Festival – Extended.
- Gag Reel – (10:22) The bloopers for “The Ugly Truth”. Hilarious and as sexually charged as the film.
- Alternate Endings – Two alternate endings were filmed and for the most part, I’m glad these two were not used at all.
- The Truth is Ugly: Capturing the Male & Female Point of View – (12:48) Director Robert Luketic, the writers of the film and the cast talk about the story of “The Ugly Truth” and their characters.
- The Art of Laughter: A Making of Hilarious Proportions – (15:53) Director Robert Luketic and the producers talk about the talent and how they were cast for the film. How the raunchy jokes by the director made everyone laugh. How good the chemistry between both Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl had.
- Previews – Featuring trailers for upcoming Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases.
- BD-Live enabled
“The Ugly Truth” Blu-ray release also includes a second disc which is the digital copy of the film.
The screenplay for “The Ugly Truth” is from the women who brought us “Legally Blonde”, “Ella Enchanted” and “The House Bunny” and there latest film is possibly there most raunchiest film yet. With “The House Bunny” showcasing a sexy but dumb blonde storyline, “The Ugly Truth” features an intelligent, beautiful blonde who seems to not know how to attract men.
Needless to say, this romantic comedy is quite sexy but it depends on how one views the film. I can see women who may feel angered that Abby, a beautiful, intelligent woman has to listen to the potty-mouth, sexually charged character Mike on how to attract men. Granted, if men were responsible for writing this screenplay, I’m sure the film would receive the wrath of some women but the fact is that the film was written by a woman, screenplay adapted by women and even Katherine Heigl executive produced this film.
But assuming that you came to watch this film without the seriousness or politically correctness, then “The Ugly Truth” can be seen as a raunchy, sexually driven comedy. Some scenes are either going to make you laugh or make you think the jokes are just stupid. From Abby spilling a drink on her date’s crotch and then trying to rub his pants with a napkin at a baseball game and attracting the attention of the people, let alone the camera crew to Abby wearing panties with a vibrator that a scene is nearly reminiscent of the popular “When Harry Met Sally” scene.
Personally for me, Katherine Heigl is way too sexy and beautiful of an actress that it’s hard to believe that she can’t find a date. But I felt that Heigl did a solid job for the role of Abby.  As for Gerard Butler, he plays your typical chauvinistic male, potty-mouth, very blunt character that knows how to attract women and thus give advice to them and he also did a great job for the character. Interesting chemistry that works onscreen and both wanted to be a raunchy Spencer & Tracy type of duo and for the most part, the two were quite fun to watch together.
Needless to say, like how many critics felt about the film, how the audience will find this film will probably be the same. Those who will find it funny and those who will find the film not to their liking.
With that being said, the film’s release on Blu-ray looks incredible and has a pretty solid lossless soundtrack for a romantic comedy. It helps when you have popular, contemporary music featured in the film.
Overall, “The Ugly Truth” is not the kind of romantic comedy ala “Sleepless in Seattle” or “When Harry Met Sally” but if you are looking for a romantic comedy that is sexually charged, then this film is for you. For the most part, I found the film to be quite fun and I admit that I found certain scenes to be hilarious but I also admit that the film seemed a bit farfetched at times. But personally, it’s good to have a romantic comedy that is different once in awhile and in this case, a film that is pretty raunchy. So, in some ways it was interesting to see how far the screenplay and the talent would go (via improvisation).
If you are wanting a romantic comedy especially a film with raunchy humor, then definitely give “The Ugly Truth” a chance.