The Ugly Truth

The Dream Guy.

Hmmmm....He must at least be 6 feet tall with washboard abs, a man who orders tap water with dinner and not an overpriced bottled water, blue-eyed with a high paying job. Hmmmm....Maybe a surgeon, lives next door and must love cats.

Wait.

That is not my description of my dream guy. That's just my conclusion of Abby Richter's (played by Katherine Heigl) apt description of his ideal man after watching the movie The Ugly Truth. In a way, this chick-flick attempts to portray the modern kind of dating especially for modern/professional/independent/Type-A career women are having --- the common dating problems faced by professionals --- dealing with a date much like a job interview: set an appointment, have the guy's full-background checked and qualifications must be met. The only problem is, one can't seem to tell a certain guy "You are Hired as my partner" straight on. That would sound so over-the-top. In a way we can say that it's definitely outrageous but in a way as well, we can say that it's true. Not with all these women, us women (I have to include my self), never ending fight for equality over men. Oh, we can say we do have tendencies to be control-freaks. But this perfectionist Ms. Producer though living in the 21st century still believes in Mr. Perfect.

But of course this is a chick-film and the up and coming scenarios are pretty much predictable. There's this guy who is the total opposite of all these qualifications, thus totally not her Mr. Perfect: a male chauvinist, rugged, brash, full of bravado guy whose philosophy is for men and women to look for lust and not love (but I have to add extremely good looking as well) >>> Enter Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler). Let's just say they've finally found their equal. Equally dominating, equally domineering, equally commanding, equally suffering from superiority complex. Ooooops. I think they all mean the same. But at least now you get the picture. But at least as well, in that sense we could deduce that they are definitely compatible. *wink

The movie posted couple of stereotypes. How men differ from women. Like "Rule #4: Never talk about your problems 'cause men don't really listen or care." Huh? Really now? That is so crazy. I wonder if any guy would admit that that is true.

It also presented the never ending battle of the sexes, superficiality, and the there's-no-such-thing-as-Mr.-Perfect-cliche or the old romantic-comedy formula. But nah, sometimes a movie is just a movie ---- some guilty pleasure, something to lull our selves.

On a personal note, in a way I had identified myself with Abby. Let's just say just like her I am romantically challenged and I too sometimes tend to be a walking checklist. But then the more I am exposed to reality the more that my checklist is becoming a description of a certain person. lol. But the bottom line here is that that's why it's called a dream guy because that's exactly how it is defined: a guy we dreamed up and wished to have.

I don't know if you would say that that is an ugly truth. But the cliched truth is there's no one here on earth who could fill out all the items in our checklist. And the only way to make that dream a reality is to realize that some dreams are realities we simply failed to recognized.

Sometimes the truth is: He was right there all along.

great combination!

Rating: ★★★★☆