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Caption It: Which Caption Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:30:09 -0700

For a movie called The Ugly Truth, these are some very pretty roses:

Thanks for chipping in your ideas for this week's Caption It challenge! There can only be one winner, though, so here are your finalists:

"No, seriously, I know you're Katherine Heigl, but they're for me. . . ."
"So, you think this bouquet will help smooth things over with the Grey's Anatomy writers?"
"It's not quite an Emmy, but OMG it'll have to do!"
"Talk about overcompensating!" . . . "I know, right?!?!"
"The card says I get to keep them if I dye my hair brown!"

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Box Office: Guinea Pigs Take Down Wizards

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:30:56 -0700

In perhaps the first showdown ever between guinea pigs and wizards, the guinea pigs won out this weekend, as Disney's animated G-Force edged out Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at the box office. The little furry guys grossed $32.2 million to Potter's $30 million, though Half-Blood Prince has now accumulated a total of $221.8 million domestically.

The Gerard Butler-Katherine Heigl rom-com, The Ugly Truth, had a strong opening weekend as well, coming in third place with $27 million. The fourth movie in the box office top five took in dramatically less: scary movie Orphan was No. 4 with $12.7 million. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs rounded out the top five with $8.2 million.

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

The Ugly Truth: A Misogynistic Mess

BuzzSugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:30:14 -0700

When reviewing The Ugly Truth, it's impossible to ignore what Katherine Heigl had to say in 2007 about her film Knocked Up:

"It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. It exaggerated the characters, and I had a hard time with it, on some days. I’m playing such a b*tch; why is she being such a killjoy? Why is this how you’re portraying women? Ninety-eight percent of the time it was an amazing experience, but it was hard for me to love the movie."

For a very similar reason, it was hard for me to love The Ugly Truth.

The ugly truth about The Ugly Truth is that it's, well, ugly. At its core, the film is a love story that tries to prove that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. What it actually succeeds at is much more sleazy, belaboring the point that men only want sex (read: women who eat hot dogs seductively) and women only want love (read: men who drink red wine and prefer cats to dogs). You don't have to be Katherine Heigl to find these stereotypes offensive.

To dig a little deeper, read more.

These types of movies aren't always bad. When Harry Met Sally became a modern classic with its examination of differences between the sexes. But that movie does so smartly - it's more subtle, more nuanced, more quaint. And while When Harry Met Sally has its fair share of risqué content (who could forget the infamous deli scene?), it's tame compared to what we see in The Ugly Truth. Case in point: this scene. It's almost a carbon copy of the notorious Meg Ryan performance, except this time the leading lady is actually climaxing at a table because her vibrating underwear is being controlled by a child with a remote. Classy.

Beyond being offensive, the movie is just boringly predictable. If you've seen the trailer, you've likely figured out the entire plot. Not to mention which, that two-minute clip is actually better than the film! The acting isn't the problem here: Heigl and Gerard Butler are great in their roles, as are many of the supporting characters. The two leads carry the film easily - it's just not a film worth carrying. Frankly, they should have known better.

I can't wait to see what Katherine Heigl has to say about this in the future.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

How Well Do You Know Gerard Butler?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:30:09 -0700

Gerard Butler has quickly become one of Hollywood's rising stars, but he's more than just a pretty face. He's proved his range with the variety of characters he's portrayed over the years, trademarking that swoon-worthy smirk in the process. His new movie, The Ugly Truth, hits theaters today, and I thought it would be fun to gear up for the romantic comedy with a little quiz all about Gerard.

Take the quiz

Caption It!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:30:05 -0700

Welcome to the Caption It game on BuzzSugar! Every Wednesday, I'll post a photo still from a TV show or movie here and challenge you to think of the most hilarious caption possible. I'll announce the finalists the following Tuesday, and you'll get to vote for the best caption!

First, let's settle the matter of last week's winner. This week's vote is one of the closest I've seen in a while - at the time I'm writing this, the vote is practically a four-way tie! At the moment, Symphonee is slightly ahead with:

"You are too small to be the muffin nazi. Step aside."

Congrats, Symphonee and all of this week's finalists!

Now for a new challenge coming to us from The Ugly Truth:

Leave your captions in the comment space below before 5 p.m. PDT on Monday, July 27 to be considered for a spot in the voting round. Have fun!

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Watch, Pass, TiVo or Rent: The Ugly Truth

PopSugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:30:15 -0700

This Friday we'll see if Katherine Heigl can add another hit romantic comedy to an impressive resume (that already includes Knocked Up and 27 Dresses) when The Ugly Truth hits theaters. Heigl stars as a TV show producer who squares off against the network's hot new relationship correspondent (Gerard Butler). They squabble over courtship ideals - which of course only puts their obvious chemistry and attraction to each other on display.

So, are you ready for a break from Summer's explosive blockbusters and set to take in a little romance at the theater? Or will you hold off on making the decision on this one until the movie is on TV or DVD?

One-sheet courtesy of Sony Pictures

Link Time! 1/20

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:30:29 -0800

Sony has moved the release date for the Katherine Heigl-Gerard Butler comedy The Ugly Truth almost four months to July 24. - Cinematical
Check out Band From TV's TV debut! - TV Squad
I'm really, really loving this song "So Far Around the Bend" by National, which is only streaming on MySpace today. - Stereogum
I'm also loving these Obama poster-fied movie posters. - FilmExperience
An attempt to rank the best and worst TV presidents. - Clique Clack TV
Michael Cera on the Arrested Development movie: "More hypothetical than people think." - MTV Movies Blog
Wow, MTV's 120 Minutes was so awesome. - Monitor Mix
Buy your very own piece of Battlestar Galactica! - geeksugar
Lisa Edelstein on playing a mom and stripping for House. - The TV Addict

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Movie Preview: Gerard and Katherine in The Ugly Truth

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:30:09 -0800

As you can see from this helpful poster, men and women are different. So different that when a "romantically challenged" woman (Katherine Heigl) can't seem to find love, a chauvinistic (though incredibly handsome) buffoon (Gerard Butler) is just the person to instruct her on how to attract a man.

The trailer for The Ugly Truth, a romantic comedy (presumably) about opposites attracting, is actually more amusing than its flimsy premise would have you believe. Butler is usually charming onscreen - even when his character is a total jerk - and while I may be alone in this opinion, I actually really like Heigl in roles like this one. The Ugly Truth opens April 3. To check out the new trailer and let me know what you think, read more.

Source

Heigl and Gerard Team Up For Romantic Comedy

BuzzSugar — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:31:35 -0800

The basics:
Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler will star together in The Ugly Truth, which will center on "a romantically challenged morning show producer (Heigl) who is reluctantly embroiled by her chauvinistic correspondent (Butler) in a series of outrageous tests to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love."

It sounds . . . kind of ugly.
There's a successful woman whose life isn't complete until she finds a man and she turns to a chauvinistic dude for advice. This sounds totally less sexist than Knocked Up, Katherine Heigl. Surely these "outrageous tests" won't be humiliating at all.

Though there is some good news . . .
The Ugly Truth will reunite the creative team behind Legally Blonde: director Robert Luketic and writers Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. I pretty much love Legally Blonde so this is encouraging.

What do you think of The Ugly Truth? Does it have potential? Will you probably still see it no matter what because Gerard Butler is in it? Discuss.

Source

Gerard Butler - Love Him or Leave Him?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Gerard Butler has had a rough couple of weeks - critics panned his film Law Abiding Citizen and his appearance on Saturday Night Live didn't win rave reviews either. On top of everything else, there are rumors about him and Jessica Simpson getting cozy floating around. There is some light at the end of the tunnel though: he just announced in an interview that he'd be joining Shakespeare's Coriolanus with Ralph Fiennes for his next film.

It's nice to see Butler take on a project with some serious acting teeth. While he's always easy on the eyes in romantic comedies like P.S. I Love You or The Ugly Truth, I've never really liked the films themselves. (The possible exception being The Phantom of the Opera, since you know I love movie musicals!)

Maybe you disagree with me though? Law Abiding Citizen did take No. 2 at the box office, and I know that several of you liked the movie despite my review. So what do you think of Gerard Butler - love him or leave him?