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Karen McCullah Lutz Archives - ShowBizCafe.com

Karen McCullah Lutz Archives - ShowBizCafe.com

The Ugly Truth
Jack Rico
0

By

2009/11/10 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

The Ugly Truth

11.10.2009 | By |

Rating: 2.5

Rated: R for sexual content and language.
Release Date: 2009-07-24
Starring: Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.theuglytruth-movie.com/

 Go to our film page

The Ugly Truth sells a fantasy about putting together two attractive individuals and telling the audience they’re falling in love rather than taking the time to develop interesting characters and build the romance. The only thing that differentiates it from far too many other uninspired rom-coms is that some of the material is funny and there is an occasional edge to the repartee. Beyond that, however, it’s a cookie-cutter movie, and the cookies are pretty stale.

A romantically challenged morning show producer (Heigl) is reluctantly embroiled in a series of outrageous tests by her chauvinistic correspondent (Butler) to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love. His clever ploys, however, lead to an unexpected result.

The two stars, Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, are the next coming of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. They’re both photogenic and their chemistry is hit-and-miss, but I can’t help wonder if this is more symptomatic of problems with the direction of Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) and the weaknesses in the screenplay. When they’re given a full scene in which to interact, there’s something there, but those moments are few and far between.

One thing The Ugly Truth has going for it is that, unlike many romantic comedies, this one is actually funny – not consistently, but there are enough laughter-inducing scenes to keep things from becoming too tedious. Much of the humor is of the sex farce variety, with some of it falling into the Benny Hill school of funny bone tickling. For the most part, The Ugly Truth is PG-13 material (with the only nudity being a male butt), but some profanity and a few descriptive sex terms push it over the line into the realm of the soft R, which makes no sense from a marketing standpoint.

The Ugly Truth is a neatly packaged product that comes with all the consumer friendly safety labels. The comedy, as sophomoric as it often is, relieves some of the boredom of the generic love story. The movie is more like a re-make than something new, but many viewers find comfort in the familiar, and this is for them. For my part, if I want to re-visit this formula, I’ll head for the DVD shelf, where better interpretations of the same basic story exist. And that my friends is ‘The Ugly Truth.’

The Ugly Truth
Jack Rico
0

By

2009/07/23 at 12:00am

Reviews

The Ugly Truth

07.23.2009 | By |

Rated: R for sexual content and language.
Release Date: 2009-07-24
Starring: Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.theuglytruth-movie.com/

Go to our film page

The Ugly Truth

The Ugly Truth sells a fantasy about placing together two attractive individuals and telling the audience they are falling in love rather than taking the time to develop interesting characters and building up the romance. The only thing that differentiates it from far too many other uninspired rom-coms is that some of the material is funny and there is an occasional edge to the repartee. Beyond that, however, it’s a cookie-cutter movie, and the cookies are pretty stale.

A romantically challenged morning show producer (Heigl) is reluctantly embroiled in a series of outrageous tests by her chauvinistic correspondent (Butler) to prove his theories on relationships and help her find love. His clever ploys, however, lead to an unexpected result.

The two stars, Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, are the next coming of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. They’re both photogenic and their chemistry is hit-and-miss, but I can’t help wonder if this is more symptomatic of problems with the direction of Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) and the weaknesses in the screenplay. When they’re given a full scene in which to interact, there’s something there, but those moments are few and far between.

 

The Ugly Truth is a neatly packaged product that comes with all the consumer friendly safety labels. The comedy, as sophomoric as it often is, relieves some of the boredom of the generic love story. The movie is more like a re-make than something new, but many viewers find comfort in the familiar, and this might be for them. In my opinion, it is a letdown except for a few laugh out loud racy scenes that salvage fromabsolute mediocrity. If I want to re-visit this formula, I’ll head for the DVD shelf, where better interpretations of the same basic story exist. And that my friends is ‘The Ugly Truth.’

The House Bunny
Alex Florez
0

By

2008/12/15 at 12:00am

DVD ReviewsReviews

The House Bunny

12.15.2008 | By |

Rating: 2.5

Rated: PG-13 for sex-related humor, partial nudity and brief strong language.
Release Date: 2008-08-22
Starring: Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.thehousebunny.com/

 Go to our film page

From the get-go ‘The House Bunny’ wants you to believe it’s a post-modern fairy tale comedy set on a college campus. Only when it nearly forgets what the moral to its story is, it almost becomes the ‘makeover’ episode from a daytime talk show.  In fact, I’m inclined to say it turns the word ‘makeover’ into a genre.

Leading the way is Anna Faris (Scary Movie), who steps into Shelley Darlingson’s pumps as a stereotypical blond Playboy bunny who is kicked out of Hugh Hefner’s mansion. But soon enough she finds a new home at an awkward sorority where the girls are dull, unpopular and desperate for pledges in order to keep the dean from taking away their house.  Predictably however, Shelley takes it upon herself to transform the girls into beauty queens and become the most coveted group to be around.

The ‘girls’, played by stars on the rise, Emma Stone (Superbad), Kat Dennings (Charlie Bartlett), Katharine McPhee (American Idol), Rumer Willis (Bruce and Demi’s eldest) and a few others, are so surprisingly likable during their pre-makeover stage that you’d almost wish they didn’t undergo any treatment.  Emma Stone in particular, works the ‘bookworm’ role so charmingly well, she steals more than one scene clearly meant for Faris to carry, who can’t seem to hide how hard she tries for every laugh. 

The pitfall here is that for too long a period, the film paints vanity in such a great light, that it sends mixed signals to the audience about the message the filmmakers want to convey. Is being beautiful on the outside really that important to get ahead in life? Well, for most of the film, they make you think so.  Of course, that’s no message for a fairy tale to send – Shelley must learn that what boys really like is what’s on the inside. And so begins a mad and sloppy dash during the second half of the film to make things right.  

One opportunity that the filmmakers certainly missed was to demystify the famous Playboy mansion. It does nothing to change or add to the widely held and fixed idea we all have of the estate.  Instead we’re limited to some Hugh Hefner cameos and a thinly put together subplot involving Shelley’s banishment.

Nevertheless, this female driven comedy has its appeal as screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (Legally Blonde) take parts from ‘The Revenge of the Nerds’ lore and attempt to make it their own.

The House Bunny
Alex Florez
0

By

2008/08/21 at 12:00am

Reviews

The House Bunny

08.21.2008 | By |

Rated: PG-13 for sex-related humor, partial nudity and brief strong language.
Release Date: 2008-08-22
Starring: Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: USA
Official Website: http://www.thehousebunny.com/

Go to our film page

The House Bunny

From the get-go ‘The House Bunny’ wants you to believe it’s a post-modern fairy tale comedy set on a college campus. Only when it nearly forgets what the moral to its story is, it almost becomes the ‘makeover’ episode from a daytime talk show.  In fact, I’m inclined to say it turns the word ‘makeover’ into a genre.

Leading the way is Anna Faris (Scary Movie), who steps into Shelley Darlingson’s pumps as a stereotypical blond Playboy bunny who is kicked out of Hugh Hefner’s mansion. But soon enough she finds a new home at an awkward sorority where the girls are dull, unpopular and desperate for pledges in order to keep the dean from taking away their house.  Predictably however, Shelley takes it upon herself to transform the girls into beauty queens and become the most coveted group to be around.

The ‘girls’, played by stars on the rise, Emma Stone (Superbad), Kat Dennings (Charlie Bartlett), Katharine McPhee (American Idol), Rumer Willis (Bruce and Demi’s eldest) and a few others, are so surprisingly likable during their pre-makeover stage that you’d almost wish they didn’t undergo any treatment.  Emma Stone in particular, works the ‘bookworm’ role so charmingly well, she steals more than one scene clearly meant for Faris to carry, who can’t seem to hide how hard she tries for every laugh. 

The pitfall here is that for too long a period, the film paints vanity in such a great light, that it sends mixed signals to the audience about the message the filmmakers want to convey. Is being beautiful on the outside really that important to get ahead in life? Well, for most of the film, they make you think so.  Of course, that’s no message for a fairy tale to send – Shelley must learn that what boys really like is what’s on the inside. And so begins a mad and sloppy dash during the second half of the film to make things right.  

One opportunity that the filmmakers certainly missed was to demystify the famous Playboy mansion. It does nothing to change or add to the widely held and fixed idea we all have of the estate.  Instead we’re limited to some Hugh Hefner cameos and a thinly put together subplot involving Shelley’s banishment.

Nevertheless, this female driven comedy has its appeal as screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (Legally Blonde) take parts from ‘The Revenge of the Nerds’ lore and attempt to make it their own. 

 

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