At the Movies: capsule reviews of ‘The Ugly Truth’ and other films this week

Capsule reviews: ‘The Ugly Truth’ and other films

Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

“The Answer Man” — It isn’t hard to guess, from a comedy with a title like “The Answer Man,” that the man in question probably doesn’t have any answers at all. But the cliches and overly familiar plot points don’t end there. The debut from writer-director John Hindman features a premise that sounds an awful lot like “As Good As It Gets,” except the script isn’t as sharp. Jeff Daniels stars as an insulting misanthrope, Lauren Graham co-stars as the struggling single mom who magically softens him, and Lou Taylor Pucci plays the young man in need of spiritual guidance. Together, this motley threesome forges an unlikely support system. The actors tend not to overplay their emotions in the film’s dramatic moments — Graham is always likable in a no-nonsense way — but then the overbearing score by Teddy Castellucci jumps in to prompt us to feel one way or another. Daniels stars as Arlen Faber, an author who became an international sensation 20 years ago with “Me and God,” in which he detailed conversations he supposedly had with the Almighty. From the profane tirade he unleashes when we first see him, we know he’s a fraud. Nevertheless, Arlen feels forced to hide inside his Philadelphia brownstone to avoid the throngs of worshippers begging for his wisdom. When his back goes out, he’s forced to leave his home and crawls on all fours to see chiropractor Elizabeth (Graham). The obvious irony is that she’s the true healer of the two of them — and he’s instantly, if awkwardly, smitten. Pucci rounds out their trio as Kris, a bookstore owner just out of rehab who seeks the answers he thinks Arlen can provide. R for language. 95 min. One and a half stars out of four.

— Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

“In the Loop” — Earlier this summer, we had “The Hurt Locker,” by far the best drama yet about the Iraq war. Now, we have a comedy that finally manages to satirize the war successfully. Granted, it doesn’t feature a minute of combat. It doesn’t even take place in Iraq or mention the war by name. Nevertheless, director and co-writer Armando Iannucci’s aim is clear: a skewering of U.S. involvement in that particular region of the Middle East, and more specifically, the support Britain provided. The aesthetic and tone may remind American viewers of “The Office,” with its faux-verite camerawork and deadpan dialogue that was often improvised; some of the one-liners breeze by so quickly and subtly, you might miss them, so pay attention. (”In the Loop” actually evolved from Iannucci’s BBC series “The Thick of It.”) It follows politicos on both sides of the Atlantic who are clueless, scheming, inept, self-serving or all of the above. In London, there’s Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), the minister for international development who makes a vague radio statement that “war is unforeseeable.” The prime minister’s communications director, Malcolm Tucker (the brilliantly acerbic and profane Peter Capaldi), freaks out and tries to do damage control. Nevertheless, in Washington, government officials seize on Simon’s words as validation for entering combat. They include Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy), the assistant secretary for diplomacy who invites Simon to explain his comments further, and the pompous State Department hawk Linton Barwick (David Rasche). Not rated but contains graphic language throughout. 106 min. Three stars out of four.

— Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

“Shrink” — Say what you will about some of Kevin Spacey’s more questionable choices over the past decade, movies like “Pay It Forward,” ”K-PAX,” ”The Life of David Gale” and his labor-of-love Bobby Darin biopic, “Beyond the Sea.” When he’s on — when he has strong dialogue to work with and solid actors to play off of — he’s got a presence and a command that are tough to beat. “Shrink” allows him to show off one of his strongest sides: He’s sharply verbal but darkly funny. He’s the central figure in an L.A. story that may seem too familiar, one in which the members of a large ensemble, many of whom are involved in entertainment, end up being cosmically connected. The coincidences can get more than a bit contrived. And it’s way too obviously ironic that Spacey’s Dr. Henry Carter, a psychiatrist to Hollywood’s elite, is in desperate need of repair himself. Among Carter’s mixed-up clientele are a veteran starlet struggling to stay relevant (Saffron Burrows); an A-list actor who’s an alcoholic sex addict (an uncredited Robin Williams), an obsessive-compulsive agent (Dallas Roberts); and a wannabe screenwriter (Mark Webber). Into Carter’s appointment book stumbles a precocious but troubled high school student (Keke Palmer), whom he takes on as a pro bono case. Yes, these all sound like cliched types. Still, the characters in Thomas Moffett’s script are intriguing enough, and director Jonas Pate gets sufficiently lively work from his eclectic cast, that you end up caring about them anyway. R for drug content throughout and pervasive language including some sexual references. 104 min. Two and a half stars out of four.

— Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

“The Ugly Truth” — At the end of this drearily formulaic romantic comedy, as our two leads are finally admitting they’ve fallen for each other (no spoilers here, folks), Katherine Heigl’s character asks Gerard Butler’s why he’s in love with her. Basically he says he has no idea, only he phrases it with a word we can’t reprint here. Our sentiments exactly. Obviously, in a battle-of-the-sexes comedy like this, the guy and the girl who hate each other at the beginning realize they’re meant for each other by the end. But there’s nothing even remotely likable, much less lovable, about Heigl’s Abby Richter. She’s a control freak who runs a tight ship at a Sacramento TV station, producing the morning news with unflappable efficiency and zero creativity. She uses the same approach in her personal life, which is why she’s hopelessly single, despite the fact that she looks like Katherine Heigl. Sure, it’s meant as a joke, but come on. The idea of a woman being so rigid and frigid is purely archaic — which is why it’s so disheartening that the script comes from three women: Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, who had much greater success writing female characters in “Legally Blonde” and “The House Bunny,” and first-timer Nicole Eastman. (Robert Luketic, who also did better work with “Legally Blonde,” directs the slapstick antics in rather unspectacular fashion.) When Butler’s brash Mike Chadway gets hired to boost ratings at the station after hosting a popular cable-access show on dating, he and Abby immediately clash. Naturally, that will change. R for sexual content and language. 100 min. One and a half stars out of four.

— Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic