I have one and yes, the trigger is tough. Keep it nice and clean and oiled (trigger assembly) and it runs a lot smoother (no grit) which makes a big difference when shooting paper.
Take a look through the smith&wesson forum as there is a lot of talk about the trigger.
I guess the way they are built there is not alot you can do. Polishing everything certainly helps.
There is a mod you can do by taking out two springs in the trigger assembly. You'll notice there are two main springs in there. One larger diameter spring over a smaller one. Take the outer one off and reinstall with just the inner. Makes a nice difference. You don't need that other smaller pigtail spring either. Some have reported problems with reliability though. Most say it runs flawless still. I don't recommend it if you use it for defense. I did it and have run a few hundred rounds through it with not one failure. Also, I wouldn't run +P ammo in it with the springs out.
I have also read that it definitely smooths with shooting. One person on S&W put several thousand rounds (5-8+) through one with the springs and one without and there is no noticable difference after that many rounds.
Good gun to learn on though. I shoot someones Glock and I am dead nuts. And the new VEs are reliable as all hell. Nothing like the original ones.