The Perfect Man (2005)

It takes a lot for me to say that a movie is horrible, but "The Perfect Man" has given me plenty of ammunition. It was so bad that I nearly erased it from my memory, and writing this review is requiring me to search the farthest depths of my consciousness to bring the memory of this movie back to the surface. The only reason I was able to sit through the whole thing was because of my love for the Duffster, but sadly not even she made this movie worthwhile.

First of all there are NUMEROUS plot holes. The most glaring one seems to be the fact that they never explain where the father/husband figure is. He supposedly abandons his family after impregnating his wife (for the second time, mind you). This brings me to the second plot hole. The age difference between the two daughters, if I remember correctly, is something like 9 years. If they have the same father, why did it take him 9 years to realize they weren't worth staying with when I wanted to leave them after the first 30 minutes? If you know the answer to this, please share it with me.

Then there is the apartment they live in. The family supposedly moves every time Locklear's character gets dumped. The movie also drills into the viewers head how poor the family is. They somehow seem to be able to afford a moderately sized NYC apartment, well furnished, in a seemingly nice part of town. They can also afford internet access for Duff's brand new laptop, all on Locklear's baker salary.

Duff's character makes a best friend at school before she even gets inside the building. Am I the only person who finds this unlikely? Halfway through the movie the friend disappears with no explanation. Once she serves her purpose, she leaves, and no one seems to miss her.

Locklear works as a baker at a bakery, as I mentioned earlier, and is pursued by a coworker throughout the movie. At first it would seem this is meant for comic relief, as he is retarded and wholly unlikable as a person. They go on a date, it doesn't go well, and we think that's the end of him. The writers, however, seemed to have a different idea when writing the script. He keeps coming back, for no reason, and each time he did I grew more and more furious, especially the moment (I won't give it away for those of you who still want to see the movie) when he does something so outrageous, so enormously unbelievable, that I could not believe what was actually happening on screen.

The younger sister's character is completely pointless. Not only is she obnoxious and annoying, she does nothing. She adds nothing to the movie, but takes away plenty. It did not help that the actress playing her is a horrible actress. I realize she's just a kid, but still. Unacceptable.

I can not stress to you enough how horrible this movie is. It was embarrassing enough asking for a ticket to the movie, and after seeing it I understand why the ticket taker could not help laughing at me.

Fmovies: I saw the DVD and I was totally disappointed. The first time I saw the advert for this in the universal studios I was actually looking forward to it, thinking it would be a sweet, feel-good movie. But the plot makes no sense, Hilary Duff is a really bad actress, I don't like Heather Locklear's selfish character "Jean Hamilton" - the producers and scriptwriter obviously aren't parents (what mother is that desperate for a man that she puts that before taking good care of her children?) When I finished watching it I felt like I have wasted a perfectly good Saturday night. My advice is don't watch this movie, it's boring and you won't feel good after watching it at all.

Saw this at a press preview and was sadly disappointed. Even though Heather Locklear is nice to look at, I disliked her selfish character right from the beginning. This dark subject was portrayed with too much fluff and the movie was wrought with simple errors and missing elements. In one scene, Jean is asked to go to a Styx concert and says, "Who is Styx?" In the next scene, she knows the band well enough to know the people on stage aren't the real singers. (They're a tribute band.) Holly's young friend (and niece to Pefect man) disappears 3/4 into the movie never to be seen again. The flaming gay stereotyped bartender added nothing to the plot but comic relief. Don't waste your money at the box office. If you must see it, wait for Netflix.

The Perfect Man fmovies. Holly Hamilton (Hilary Duff) is sick of her single mother (Heather Locklear) embarrassing her and ruining her life with her bad choices in men and her breakdowns when they don't work out. To try to break the cycle, Holly invents the perfect man, a secret admirer who romances her mother from a distance and then borrows her friend's Uncle Ben (Chris Noth) to maintain the ruse.

The Perfect Man is a bland, sweet piece of fluff that will entertain it's target audience though everyone else may have trouble forgiving the flaws. The film is obviously unrealistic so if you're going to watch it, keep that in mind. It has an interesting story, though I have been told that it's a rip off of Mermaids which I never saw so that didn't bother me. Mark Rosman is pretty good at making kids films/shows after A Cinderella Story and Even Stevens. Most people over the age of 15 probably hate his work but if the kids like it than he gets the job done but their was something missing here. Even my sister, the biggest lover of fluff films, said it wasn't very good.

The biggest problem with The Perfect Man is that all the characters are unlikable. Holly's mom is selfish for moving the kids to different places after each breakup. Instead of dealing with the problems, she just runs away from them and it's hard for her daughters to grow up. Holly doesn't really seem to care about her mom and when they move to Brooklyn, she does everything to make her stay. This includes writing fake love letters and seducing her own mom online. Most of the characters are also pretty annoying and even the short running time becomes a challenge to get through.

The main actors are all pretty good but the supporting actors are weak. Hilary Duff is a decent actress and this film is defiantly better than her last flop Raise Your Voice. This is a better role for her since it lets her grow as an actress and it doesn't require her to sing. Duff isn't as good as Heather Locklear though. Heather is really good in this role and she would never have trouble finding a man. Chris Noth does an okay job but I really don't see the appeal of him as an actor. Caroline Rhea and Carson Kressley tie each other for the most annoying performance in the movie. Both of their characters were added for comedy relief but they will most likely give the audience a headache. In the end, The Perfect Man is far from perfect but it's nice entertainment for Hilary Duff fans and tweens. Rating 5/10

OK. I'm a Caucasian male in my 30's, there is no reason this film should appeal to me. So, I had the opportunity to see it last night. It has been a long time since I've been so pleasantly surprised in a movie theater. Firstly, the performances were great- Duff and Locklear (I never liked her before, but she's funny and beautiful and delivers... crazy) were dynamic and interesting. Noth is kind of irritating, but I guess some people find him sexy. Anyway, what on the face is a silly small tale is in fact a movie of surprising depth about relationships, the fear of solitude, and familial interaction. Who the hell knew a director of pulpy TV stuff had this in him? I'm considering that perhaps I was emotionally available or vulnerable, but objectively, the film-making is consummate. It looks great- like a big 80's comedy, nice and vivid and bright. So, don't fight if you are taken by a wife/daughter... you will be nicely surprised.

Tonight I saw a "Perfect Man". While there were a few inconsistencies such as bad Brooklyn Accents and that Holly (Hillary Duff) was 16 and driving in NYC, you must be 18 to drive within the city limits, the movie itself was great. I am the daughter of divorced parents, as so many of us in today's world. I always resented that my mother changed my sister and my lives to benefit her own. However we saw this movie together and after we both had a really good cry. She related to Jean (Heather Locklear), a single mother who moved over a man. And I related to Holly (Duff) who didn't want to move and had to leave her friends behind. Although it's not clear if the mother was divorced or never married, this movie was an amazing account of the divorcée and her daughters attempts to get things right.