6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
Abby Richter is a romantically challenged morning show producer whose search for Mr. Perfect has left her hopelessly single. She's in for a rude awakening when her bosses team her with Mike Chadway, a hardcore TV personality who promises to spill the ugly truth on what makes men and women tick.
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler, Bree Turner, Eric Winter, Nick SearcyComedy | 100% |
Romance | 79% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Portuguese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy (on disc)
BD-Live
Region free
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
You have to be two people: the saint and the sinner.
What an appropriate title -- with an emphasis
on the "ugly" -- for one of the lesser Romantic Comedies of the decade. The Ugly Truth
waddles through genre clichés but does so not with spunk, spirit,
or even a good old-fashioned sense of fun, but with generic, unlikable characters; a boring and
predictable story; and not even a hint of charm. The Ugly Truth suffers not from genre
overexposure but rather obvious underexposure as to what makes movies like these work. It
dares
to step over the comfortable PG-13 boundaries that represent the genre norm, doing so with
heightened
vulgarity, innuendo, and sexually-charged sight gags that don't make up for the sheer lack of
magnetism between its characters
and
the absence of any real humor or originality in its script. This is no 50 First Dates or
even
Actress Katherine Heigl's own 27 Dresses; The
Ugly Truth, rather, leaves a sour aftertaste that's best cured by a double-dose of 13 Going on 30.
Tell me the ugly truth...just don't call me ugly.
One thing that's definitely not ugly about The Ugly Truth is Sony's gorgeous 1080p, 2.40:1-framed transfer. It's becoming old hat to review these pristine and film-like transfers from the studio, but it never gets old watching them. This transfer instantly transports viewers to the local high-quality multiplex thanks to its incredible detail, rich color palette, stunning detail, crisp definition, and nice sense of depth. As typical of a Romantic Comedy, the colors throughout take on a slightly warm tint, but they appear stable and pleasing to the eye in every scene. The Ugly Truth is abundantly colorful, and many scenes jump off the screen thanks to both the color reproduction and solid level of detail that's seen in practically every scene; whether the darker, bluish-gray interior of the television control booth or several bright exteriors, fine detail on every surface impresses a great deal. Black levels are marvelous, and flesh tones never veer too far from a natural shade, despite the warmth of the color palette. Rounded out by a very subtle but nicely-preserved grain structure, The Ugly Truth represents another fantastic new release from Sony.
The Ugly Truth features a strong DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's as good as the video transfer. Other than music, there's little more than dialogue and light atmospherics to be found herein, but each is so wonderfully presented that the general lack of a whiz-bang, action-packed soundtrack is soon forgotten once the various pop songs blare through the sound system. Music plays with fantastic power but also pitch-perfect clarity. It also comes with a good bit of bass in tow and a noticeable rear-channel presence. A club scene in chapter 13 -- featuring a song with a decidedly Latin beat -- excels with a wonderfully crisp delivery and a healthy low end that turns the living room floor into the dance floor. While several musical pieces represent the sonic highlight of the track, it's made complete by solid atmospherics in several locales. Ringing phones in offices, clanking dishes and silverware in a restaurant, and a light but impressive general din throughout does well to compliment each and every environment, including a baseball game scene in chapter nine that effectively places the listener in the bleachers. Rounded out by strong dialogue reproduction, The Ugly Truth delivers another superb soundtrack from Sony.
The Ugly Truth features several extras. First is a commentary with Director Robert
Luketic and Producer Gary Lucchesi that covers only select scenes: 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, and The Hot Air Balloon.
Next up is a collection of six deleted and alternate scenes (1080p, 16:22), two alternate endings
(1080p, 5:12), and a gag reel (1080p, 10:22). The Truth is Ugly: Capturing the Male &
Female Point of View (1080p, 12:48) features cast and crew discussing the "ugly truth" of
the "battle of the sexes," juxtaposed with footage from the film and behind-the-scenes clips. The
piece also briefly delves into a few traditional comments as the cast and crew also discuss the
film's
themes, various scenes, and more. The Art of Laughter: A Making of Hilarious
Proportions (1080p, 15:53) looks at the comedic performances of the cast and the traits
that make the characters funny. Also included is BD-Live functionality; Sony's "MovieIQ" that
offers live, up-to-date details about every scene, including cast and crew filmographies and
biographies, soundtrack listings, and more; and 1080p trailers for Julie & Julia,
Black
Dynamite, An Education, It Might Get Loud,
Lorna's Silence, Angels & Demons,
Coco Before Chanel, Year One, and Whatever Works.
Perhaps the highlight of this set is the first-time inclusion of the on-the-Blu-ray-disc digital copy
that may
be transferred from the Playstation 3 (PS3) to a PSP system. The digital copy's
icon appears below the movie's icon on the PS3 XMB (Xross Menu Bar) and is accompanied by a
written reminder that the digital copy must be redeemed by 11/30/10 and is not available on
rental discs. Clicking on the icon signs users into the PlayStation Network where a prompt to
enter the included code appears on-screen. Following code entry, the digital copy is transferred to
the PS3 hard drive. Once the process is complete, an icon for the film will again appear under the
"video" tab of the XMB. To transfer to the PSP, highlight the digital copy's icon, press the
"option" (green triangle) key on the remote, and scroll to "copy." From there, users will be
prompted to connect the PSP to the PS3 via a USB cable, and then to select "USB Connection"
from the PSP's "Settings" menu in the XMB. Once the PSP is connected, users may need to
once again select "copy" under the digital copy's "options" screen on the PS3 to begin the
transfer. Once the
transfer is complete, the film will appear under the "Video" tab of the PSP's XMB. When the
movie plays, the "X" button and "start" button both pause the film; the "circle" button and the
"select" button return users to the XMB; the "triangle" button reveals a series of options;
the "square" button reveals a menu to select scenes from the film at either 15 second, 30
second, one minute, two minute, or five minute intervals; the "left" and "right" arrow keys on
the directional pad fast forward and reverse the film in increments of 1x, 2x, and 3x speeds; the
"up" and "down" arrows on the directional pad increase and decrease the playback speed from a
range of 0.5 speed to 2.0 speed; and the "left" and "right" shoulder buttons serve as chapter
skips, though there are no set chapters here, and the "left" button only returns the film to the
beginning. The video quality, as replayed on Sony's new PSP Go, is excellent and surpasses the
typical quality found on the iPod Touch, offering improved color, detail, and no apparent severe
blocking. The audio is understandably puny when listened via the built-in speakers; headphones
produce more volume, a bit more clarity, a decent sense of space, and strong dialogue
reproduction, but there's not much to get excited about with The Ugly Truth; more
action-packed films should be more telling. Also included is a traditional digital copy on disc two.
Replayed on a Second Generation iPod
Touch, the visual presentation impresses, delivering strong colors, wonderful detail,
and a fine sense of depth. The soundtrack, too, is solid. Ambient crowd noise during the baseball
sequence, for example, does a fine job of replicating the feel of the ballpark, and dialogue is strong
and consistently intelligible.
A Romantic Comedy need not be meaningful but it does require its characters be affable and its story be charming to work, but The Ugly Truth instead goes for, well, the ugly, and the result is a movie that follows basic genre clichés but fails in its attempt to branch out and delve into raunchier territory that sacrifices the lighthearted innocence that defines the best the genre has to offer. Nevertheless, genre aficionados and fans of the film will love Sony's technical presentation of The Ugly Truth; delivering pristine visuals and a wonderful lossless soundtrack, not to mention a decent collection of extras, this Blu-ray is a beautiful thing.
2009
1986
2009
2009
2009
2010
Special Edition
2008
2011
2010
2008
Deluxe Edition
2003
2010
2011
2011
2009
2007
Warner Archive Collection
2005
2010
2006
2010