A sweet romance that won't make your teeth rot, January 10, 2000

This movie is privvy to one of the weirdest gimmicks of all time -- what if the romantic lead were actually the side kick and the side kick the romantic lead. You take the normal, formulaic romantic comedy and intentionally and self-consciously cast contrarily so that Janeane Garofalo is the romantic lead and Uma Thurman is her side kick. Moreover, you make no attempt to hide Uma's beauty (remember "Pretty Woman" and Laura San Giocomo costumed to avoid us noticing her). In this case, the whole point is Noelle (Uma Thurman) is prettier than Abby (Janeane Garafalo). This is brought to a head by Brian (Ben Chaplin) who calls in to Abby's veterinary radio show and finds himself intrigued by the woman he speaks to on the telephone. The problem enters when Abby, thinking he would rather date Noelle, introduces Noelle as herself. This would be alright if this guy were a one night stand, but he is serious and real and wants the charming woman he met on the telephone...

With a few exceptions, I normally loathe formulaic romantic comedies. The Truth About... is as formulaic as they come. So what makes it so good?

Two of my absolute favorite women here - Janeane and Uma, so I enjoyed seeing it when it first came out. Then I watched it again last week. Wow what a difference eight years made in my perception.Alot of humor is funny because there is some underlying truth. But have you ever heard the dead silence following the punch line because a joke struck a little too close to home?Of all the thousands of actresses they could have picked,... they picked these two, who because they personify so perfectly the sterotypes that are supposed to make this movie so funny..., I didn't laugh as much as I had the first time.Here are two fabulous women, Jeanane and Uma, who contribute to the life experience of the rest of us here on the planet simply because they exist. Due in part to their humanity and vulnerability, they are gifted actresses (and brillint comedienne and stunning model). But they are also people who I suspect in real life, because of something as...