July 21, 2009

  • Review: The Ugly Truth (Zigman)

    Fans of 300 star Gerard Butler will get to see him acting without special effects and minimal clothing with Katherine Heigl in this mid-summer battle-of-the-sexes romantic trifle, The Ugly Truth.  It was a small welcome surprise to see Aaron Zigman’s name attached to this score.  2008 seemed a relatively slow period for the composer after an insanely busy 2007 with good scores for Pride and Martian Child and his additional musical work on Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.  Last year found him scoring some high profile films including the Sex and the City movie and Flash of Genius.  For The Ugly Truth we get to hear Zigman try his hand at romantic comedy scoring without preconceived thematic content.  It turns out to be a good thing in this under 40-minute release from Lakeshore of score material.

    The first thing that one notices as the score begins is its deft light-footedness.  The music bubbles along with tango-esque rhythms that are just a little off kilter.  There is an immediate intimate feel created as the composer uses vibraphone, a solo violin or guitar (among other things) to give the bare hint at a melodic idea.  All of it cast against a bassoon and string ostinato pattern.  Zigman then takes these materials and casts them in more modern guise (“Abby & Mike in L.A.”) still managing to keep the ostinato pattern moving (in electronic and percussion sounds).  These ideas are cast by subtle hints of romance in light piano and strings with the ostinato idea being a constant reminder of the comedic irony underlining the story.  Pure light romance in the title track, itself quite beautiful, displays Zigman’s ability to craft lengthier thematic cues.

    The truth of the matter is that this is a delightful score with plenty of nice touches.  The eclecticism of moving from a more balladic contemporary pop sound back into the orchestral sound is done in ways which make musical and dramatic sense.  There is even a great “New Theme” easily at home as a TV News main title.  Those more comfortable with just orchestral scores will be frustrated by the intrusion of funk and urban stylized elements at first but they seem to work very well as variations on the primary material.  The shift from orchestra, to pop, to R&B styles is handled effortlessly and makes the album avoid being terribly bland as a whole.  But it is always in the orchestral colors here where Zigman’s score (and the orchestration team) really shine.  (The music is sort of a cross between Ratatouille and Mr. Magorium and Young’s The Man Who Knew Too Little in some ways with its light romance and willingness to veer off into urban musical styles.)  Tracks, though plentiful, are relatively brief throughout the disc further demonstrating the composer’s capability of communicating emotional gestures in brief and successful brushstrokes.

    The score turns out to be one of those nice surprises that most might just overlook but for fans of romantic comedy scoring this might be worth your time.  Some may even find some of the interesting sounds a cross between Elfman and Debney’s lighter scoring moments.  The Ugly Truth though continues to demonstrate that Zigman remains a composer worth paying attention to as bigger and better projects come along.