Australian director Robert Luketic’s new film ‘The Ugly Truth’, from a script co-written by Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah and Kristen Smith, tells a battle of the sexes story.

Kathrine Heigl plays an independent, strong willed morning television producer Abby Richter who is used to having her own way. Management is of the mind that there needs to be some new talent on the show. At the weekly staff meeting they introduce Richter to the new talent, the very hardcore Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler). Chadway ran a television segment called ‘The Ugly Truth, on an opposition network, that presented a radical and chauvinistic take on the Battle of The Sexes. Richter is instructed that she now has to produce his segment as part of her show. The fait accompli has Richter in a spin…

The film has a rich blend; good direction, the two leads are in good form, in particular Heigl who knows how to turn the charm on, and the supporting cast give good performances and play colourful yet credible characters. Some of the repartee about male/female relations is witty. There are some very funny scenes, especially a scene featuring the misuse of an adult sex toy.

In a way, ‘The Ugly Truth’ felt like a film that was made in a similar mould to Rob Reiner’s classic ‘When Harry Met Sally’. Similar to Billy Crystal’s Harry, Mike Chadway was chauvinist and a provocateur, and like Meg Ryan’s Sally, Abby Richter was feisty yet playful.

The ugly truth is that Luketic’s film is not of the same class. It comes across as too commercial, too eager to please, and with not enough bite. The predictable, saccharin ending only brought this feeling home more. I suspect ‘The Ugly Truth’ will come and go, and quite easily be forgotten.