Synopsis:
Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) is a morning show TV producer in California. Coming home from a disastrous date one night, she happens to see a segment of a local television show, "The Ugly Truth", run by Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler), whose cynicism about relationships prompts Abby to call into the show to argue with him on-air. The next day, she discovers that the station is threatening to cancel her show because of its poor ratings, and the station owner has hired Mike to do a segment on her show to bring them back up.
At first, the two have a rocky relationship; Abby thinks Mike is crass and disgusting while Mike finds Abby to be a control freak. Nevertheless, when she meets the man of her dreams, a doctor named Colin (Eric Winter) living next to her, Mike persuades her to follow his lead. She agrees to his helpful advice and if he can get her the man she wants, proving his theories on relationships, she will work happily with him, but if Mike fails, he agrees to quit.
Our perception of others is usually influenced by a plethora of psychological and social factors. As seen in 'The Ugly Truth', Mike is deemed by Abby as uncouth and obnoxious, while he feels that she is a naive and uptight idealist. Their view of each other is built mostly upon first impression. Such tendencies are common in our perception of many things or people around us and are hard to be corrected or altered. Many of us are guilty of such behaviour as we only select and process information that we want to see, whether consciously or otherwise.
Based on cognitive schemata, Abby labels Mike as a 'Man whore', and such perception is based solely on his successful television programme, which involves Mike being constantly surrounded by scantily dressed woman and spewing ugly truths about men and women's relationships. However, judging one's character solely based on one's job is usually fairly inaccurate. Such stereotypes on social roles or professions are something we should avoid, as they often fail to give us truthful insight of one's character.
Colin, the man of Abby's dreams, is an excellent example of a prototype of the 'perfect guy', as deemed by our society. Tall, handsome, has a fantastic job and great personality, he is depicted as one with all the qualities most women seek in a man these days. In most romantic comedy, or at least those that manage to achieve box-office success, the presence of such a character is essential, as it allows the viewers and fans to indulge in their own little fantasy of being the character in the film. But who can blame them for that? Sometimes, a little indulgent does gives us all a little more optimism and hope in our own romantic department and lives.
i agree! indulgence is a once-in-a-while treat for ourselves.. very unfortunately.. but good movie! i liked it!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the saying that people judge others usually by impression. However this should not be the case as one might be putting on a mask to hide his character due to certain reasons such as maybe work. A manager have to be firm with his decision, an artiste will be what they want to be perceived on screen etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree that perception of others are often based on our cognitive schemata. This is unavoidable as our past knowledge is the only source available for us to judge what we see around us.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, this movie has indeed brought many of us to our senses that the first impressions of others may be fairly inaccurate. Those who often have this problem should be encouraged to watch this show. :))
I agree that our perceptions of others are very much based on social and psychological factors. On the psychological level, our self-awareness plays a major role in our attitude, feelings and hence behaviour. This is because, how we think are based on our understanding and interpretation of the issues surrounding us. This is subjective and very much affected by past personal experiences. On the social level, our perceptions of others may be coloured by the complexities of work relationships and politics.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, placing a stereotype on a person based on his career option is certainly an inaccurate way of judging a person. Career is only a single aspect.
There are many 'scripts' present in the movie, like the bad date script, the perfect guy script, and even the whole story is a 'the-one-I-love-is-right-beside-me-all-along' script. Scripts are important even in movies, but sometimes a little off the script may be able to bring surprising effects to the overall movie itself. It'll allow people to remember the movie based on those inconsistencies with scripts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Charlene! First impression ought to be refined with second, third or even fourth impressions!
ReplyDeleteWell, if the people in their particular roles are not doing a great job, having a fantastic script (ie advice from the 'professionals') is as good as useless.
The ugly truth refers to (1) the essential need to change our appearance and personality to suit a socially acceptable cookie-cutter mould in order to start a relationship, (2) the acceptance that viewers at home indeed prefer to watch sleazy segments as opposed to world news and (3) acknowledging our misjudgments and assumption as human nature.
ReplyDeleteIf we take a moment to dismount ourselves from our moral high horses, the phenomenon occurs in our everyday life. We have an affinity to things that we can identify with. Whether it be ticking the boxes next to a mental checklist when you "assess" a total stranger or a quick scan of the book covers in the library.
The truth is if the book title or cover doesn't appeal to you, you won't want to read the synopsis at the back. If you don' even bother to read the dubious acclaim lavished by other reviewers and conveniently placed on the cover, you probably won't read the book either.
I agree that first impressions are usually the ones that form your perception of a person. It is not always accurate, but our human nature and cognitive schemata would (sometimes) like for it to be true.
ReplyDeleteHi Gerald here. Yes i do agree that first impressions are very important in society nowadays and it is very difficult to change ones first perception of another person.BUT that also puts into our minds the question "Can we really believe what we see of people?" For example, Hollywood stars. We see them being portrayed in movies and along the red carpets but is that really who they are? Or is it just all lies and deceptions. =p
ReplyDeleteThanks guys for all your comments.
ReplyDeleteClouds: I do agree with you that the presence of the different types of scripts in the movie is what makes it hilarious. And in reality, we do plan such scripts in our daily lives too.
You-G: Yes, I believe we're all guilty of judging people or things around us constantly, whether we know the person or not, or if the issue really concerns us. Jumping to conclusion is just what many of us like to do, because it's the easy way out.
Gerald: I believe for a celebrity, what we see is usually a carefully-constructed image that he/she wants the world to see. It is often with the help of a clever publicist or a skilled surgeon.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how it's called the 'ugly truth'... giving the impression that we'd prefer to decorate a set of lies than hear the truth... Yet the irony is that both were able to ignore the typecast of the perfect guy and girl and were able to accept each other - Abby's neurotic behaviour and Mike's unromantic self.
ReplyDeleteLesson learned I guess? But it won't stop us ladies from conjuring in our heads the image of a perfect man!
Nina: Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI guess the usual happy ending of the show does gives the viewers, probably more so for the ladies, more room for a romanticized fantasy.
The 'prototype' of the perfect man in the movie is quite one dimensional and it doesn't exist in reality. But those witty and crude lines in the show are hilarious!
ReplyDeletemovies at the very core of it needs to be able to sell well, and it has been proven that movies with eye candies generally do better than those without. i haven found the time to watch it so i do not know the ending, but presumely as how movie goes, abby would probably get together with mike. although this show exposes alot of truths about relationships between men and women, i feel that society's being fabricated on layers upons layers of farces, and removing them, ie in the ugly truth, may not necessarily bring about positive results
ReplyDeleteEvonne: Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's inevitable for the presence of such flawless character 1-dimensional in a romantic comedy. I guess it's part of the appeal as it allows viewers to see all the positive traits they like in Colin, based on their own perception of what a ideal partner is.
Kevin: Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the main aim of a mainstream movie like this is definitely to do well at the box office. And it's not surprise that the good-looking A-list celebrities are usually required for a movie with such predictable plot.
It's true that exposing the truth about relationship of any kind may not always lead to results people want. But don't you feel that sometimes even when people know the truth, they would still choose to delude themselves?
I enjoyed the movie. But it left me thinking for a while. It was trying to bring across (or so I thought) that we have evolved into a world where the facade has become more important then it ever was throughout history. Pace of living has hastened to a point where judgement of a person starts and stops within 3 seconds of first encounter. At the same time, we are also preaching the importance of inner beauty. We know we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but we still choose to, thanks to our selective short-sightedness, and thirst for satisfaction laid upon our table.
ReplyDeleteEvolution is a funny thing. There is no good or bad, decline or progress, as we humans see it to be. Only the continuity of time prevails. Facade might be the future. It might be the start of a totally new concept of survival.
If you have time, check out another movie called 'Surrogates'. It talks about having robots taking over your physical being outside while you control your 'surrogates' by plugging into a machine at the comfort of your home. You can be anyone, do anything, and go anywhere that your physical body doesn't permit. Sounds like a fantasy? It might just come true...
Adrian: Thanks for your insightful comment.
ReplyDeleteI believe that human have always been creating facades for many purposes, be with to protect ourselves from being hurt, or to try to shape or alter other's perception of us.
Isn't good manners one of the most widely accepted and commonly used facade in many social situations? The use of appropriate and polite words or a well practiced smile to hide our genuine thoughts of a person or an issue.
I just watched it. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteGirls just love to enjoy a little fantasy sometimes.
But it also shows that you cannot always judge a person solely based on their physical appearance or work in this case.
Jasmine: Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI guess many people also know that we shouldn't judge a person based on our first impression of them as it may not always portray the whole truth. But what I am cynical about is, can we really do that? Is it possible for us not to pass judgement on people, even if it's the first time we are meeting them? We may be able to keep it to ourselves but not verbalizing it doesn't mean we're not secretly going through a mental check list of our own.
The Ugly Truth clearly depicts the meaning behind the chinese saying,"Nan Ren Bu Huai, Nu Ren Bu Ai" In english, it means a girl doesn't loves a guy who isn't bad at all.
ReplyDeleteBesides having a rather good plot, a pretty and handsome lead actor and actress probably make the movie a box office hit!
Kester: Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do agree that the 'bad boy' image is probably very appealing to many ladies. But what I'm skeptical about is that "Is that what women really want?"
Or do they want a bad boy who will give in and listen to them or even change for the better for them, so that they feel special and loved?
I'm not sure of the answer, but all I know is that whether you're a man or woman, everyone sure wants to feel loved and special in the eyes of their lovers.
Yeah! Correct........although Abby like Colin, Colin is not meant for her.....she pretend to like wad Colin did, ate and his behaviours....but in da hotel room she split out everything........n Abby found out that Mike is the right guy for her...
ReplyDeleteTerry: thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised to know you watched this show too. Glad you seem interested in it. I especially love Katherine's comical performance in the show. Anyway, what Abby did is definitely prove that people tend to get together with those who share similar views or lifestyle habits. And it also shows that what we sometimes perceive as 'perfect' may not be as wonderful as we think in reality.