We saw The Ugly Truth last weekend — with friends; it was their choice of movie, not ours — and it was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be. Lots of crude humor, lots of denigration of healthy relationships, and a very dim view of men.

Now, I don’t have a problem with most content in movies. Much to my mother’s consternation, I don’t filter my movie choices based on violence, language, sex, or other “objectionable” content. Those may, in the end, affect my enjoyment of a movie, but I rarely rule out a movie because I think that what I see, I won’t like. I’d rather base my enjoyment of the movie on its story, and those elements can all be used very effectively to tell the story and make a specific point. Often, the movies with the most disturbing content (think Monster’s Ball, Requiem for a Dream, or Pan’s Labyrinth) are the most beautifully crafted, well-told stories with the most to think about and take away.

The exceptions, for me, are movies that get their laughs at the expense of a healthy view of romantic relationships. Not necessarily even an unhealthy view of marriage, but I really dislike the perpetuation of the idea that men are horndogs who want sex, not relationships; that women are all idealists who expect too much from men; that people are incapable of growth and change. Colin and I both get quite offended by jokes about “the ol’ ball and chain” or a husband “being in the doghouse,” and those t-shirts with stick figures of a bride and groom with the caption “Game Over” make me kind of angry.

I love movies, like Rachel Getting Married or Spanglish, for instance, that examine how relationships can be hard, and that take an honest look at the differences between men and women — because we all know that those differences are definitely there — but they’re done in a spirit of exploration and intelligence, rather than just milking the situation for cheap laughs. Even something like 50 First Dates, which has its share of crude humor and isn’t anything particularly deep, just funny, has a sweet heart to it.

However, I realized as I was driving home after running some errands that the things that offend me aren’t just in the content, although that can certainly be the root of it. I was thinking about Arrested Development, and how Colin and I both laughed our way through the series, even though it’s one of those I-can’t-believe-I’m-laughing-at-this-but-I-can’t-stop kind of shows. The characters aren’t very sympathetic, the storylines aren’t thought-provoking, the relationships are totally unhealthy and archetypal, and the humor is kind of crude — but oh, do the writers make you work for it.

It’s the kind of show that makes you think, even while you’re laughing and being kind of ashamed that you find it so funny. And no, it’s not the content itself that makes you think, but it’s the presentation. It’s the fact that as you’re watching the show, if you’re watching on a more intelligent level than the part of your brain that’s laughing at the cheap physical humor, you’re picking up levels of humor in the cultural references, call-backs to previous episodes, and nuances of the moment. It’s a show that simultaneously lets you just laugh at dumb jokes and rewards you for engaging your brain as you watch.

And really, The Ugly Truth? Not that at all. It was low-brow, cheap humor, intended to provide laughs with no effort or thought for an unsophisticated palate. As evidenced by the fact that we had not one (as we almost always end up with), but two groups of people sitting near us who were loud and obnoxious through the entire movie. Laughing at certain lines, and then repeating them to each other, and then laughing at their three-seconds-from-the-original removed redux of the moment. Oy vey. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised by the audience, but it certainly says something about the movie.

So basically, it seems to boil down to this: Mindless, cheap humor, not at the expense of marriage or relationships — eh, sure. I’ll probably laugh and then groan at how stupid it is. Cheap, low-brow humor at the expense of relationships and the dignity of an entire gendre — chances are, I won’t like it. Intelligently mindless humor, even if some of it is at the expense of those relationships — yeah, I might like that. Chances are I’ll find it funnier than the others, because even if I’m kicking myself for laughing, I’m laughing at the presentation, not just the actual joke.

Tags: aesthetics, film, mass appeal, offensive work, Reviews, things I've seen

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