One of Hilary Duff's most attractive qualities is that she's not a borderline anorexic like too many Hollywood starlets; she has a warm, full-bodied presence that makes her dangerously glossy prettiness accessible. Similar... more »ly, Heather Locklear--who's been an iconic plastic blonde on television for decades--is cultivating a bruised humanity as she matures. These two combine forces in The Perfect Man, a curious teen comedy/adult romance hybrid about a single mother named Jean (Locklear, Melrose Place) whose tactic for getting over a broken heart is to move to a different part of the country, uprooting her two daughters Holly and Zoe (Duff, Cheaper by the Dozen, and newcomer Aria Wallace) in the process. Holly, to keep her mother from falling into another desperate and doomed relationship, uses advice from a schoolfriend's uncle (Chris Noth, Sex and the City) to send Jean flowers and love letters from a secret admirer. Of course, sustaining this fantasy requires some wacky antics, but The Perfect Man balances goofiness with an emotional mother/daughter tug-of-war and has some entertaining supporting actors (including Caroline Rhea, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and Carson Kressley, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy). The plot, however, has holes so big that it collapses even as it unfolds. --Bret Fetzer« less
"This is a cute enough movie with a cute enough premise. Hilary Duff plays Holly, a girl who, along with her little sister, keeps getting shuffled around the country by their mother (Heather Locklear), who leaves a town as soon as her latest relationship hits the rocks. She simply runs away, instead of actually confronting her problems. (Real good example she's setting for the kids, huh?)
Holly is sick of moving around, especially after the latest breakup has landed them in, of all places, NYC. When her mother starts dating Lenny, whom Holly perceives to be a complete loser, she concocts a scheme to send her mother flowers and love letters from "the perfect man" to keep her mother from going out with Lenny. Holly is helped by Ben (Chris Noth, total heartthrob), a chef who feeds Holly nothing but cheesy advice about love. Holly then realizes how simple it is: Ben IS the perfect man! Now if only she hadn't given her mom pictures of Ben and all these love letters and flowers, because all this is unbeknowst to Ben! Of course there's a guy in there for Holly, too, but, like her mother, she's terrified of getting her heartbroken.
Forget the perfect man. It's not really about finding the perfect guy, it's a movie about a mother and a daughter trying to find out who they are and what exactly they want. The whole time I was practically screaming at the TV because I just wanted the mother to give it up already and be happy by herself, at least for a while. The movie's biggest flaw is not clearly showing how the mother feels. Does she like Lenny? Does she think he's stupid? I wasn't quite sure. Her actions and her words are contradicting, and I find that quite annoying. But it's still cute, and it's especially good if you're hankering for some Mr. Big. RECOMMENDED."
The perfect date movie...
Jordan Utz | Salem, Massachusetts | 05/31/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Perfect Man is a movie of wit and the heart. It has a little bit of humor in it and a lot of heart breaking situations... and some embarassing moments.
Holly Hamilton is your average teen... except she moves around... A LOT! As she describes to her best friend she meets in Brookland Amy, after another failing romance, "my mom starts out hopeful to find the perfect man but when he dosen't come along in about two weeks, she becomes desperate and hooks up with some loser and I can't do anything about it. When the relationship comes to an end, and it always does, we pack up and move again. I can't even run away because that's what she does."
Those are the words from Holly, mad how she always makes friends and then has to pack up and move when her mom, Jean, has another failed romance. Jean is a hard-working baker that has raised two girls, and had landed a job at Dolorus's bakery in New York. So Holly has a plan to make the perfect man, even if he didn't exist, so she could boost her mom's shaky self esteem and show her mom that you don't need a man to be the "perfect you"
Holly first leaves the most romantic flower, the orchid, and leaves it on the apartment door.
Instant messenging Jean from the account she set up, Holly learns more about her mom than she ever knew, using lines from a romantic guy that knows a lot about woman. His name is Ben and he's Amy's uncle. He is a manager at a ritzy restaurant called "The River Bistro" He tells Holly everything... giving her a CD to give to her mom from the perfect man, that is nothing but happy music and before you know it... the 3 Hamilton girls are dancing in the living room.
Troubles start to come into the picture when Lenny Horton, the bread baker, comes into the picture and asks Jean out. Never laying eyes on Ben and thinking what-the-heck, she says "yes" and Lenny takes her to a tribute band from Stix.
Holly finds out that after going to Ben's place that Ben is the perfect man for her mom. But since she sent him a picture in the mail of him and said that he was moving to China to open a restaurant, they can never meet. Ben does the New York Times crossword puzzle in blue pen, same as Jean... and dosen't think the moon is just a rock that comes out at night, just like Jean... Ben is the perfect man...
Holly confesses to her mom that the perfect man wasn't real after Jean gets a wedding proposal from the low life Lenny, but tells her that there is a perfect man out there that was based on the things that she said and that there is a perfect man and a perfect you.
This movie is warm hearted and funny! Don't miss out on this one folks!
Jordan
Overall grade* A-
Oh, if you saw the movie trailer and wonder what the song is in it, it's called "Waiting for the sun" performed by Sixpence none the richer."
Loved It
Riley McGuire | NY | 09/20/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Hilary Duff once again does a great job in her latest movie, A Perfect Man. This is a very cute mother/daughter movie that is great for anyone to see. I definetly recommend this to anyone and if you havenn't seen it in the movies then rent the dvd!!"
The Perfect Man
Ashley Quinn | 09/08/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This Movie was great!!!!Hilary Duff is so beautiful and im her biggest fan i would recommend this movie to anybody or anyfamily out there."
The Perfect Movie
Nicole Martins | Miami, Florida, USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Univ | 11/20/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This movie was critizized harshly by reviewers, but they were obviously blind to the film's greatness, as you may call it. Everything about this film is lovable, the story, the characters, the actors - Hilary Duff; need I say more? Yes, probably a thousand people said this movie was very fake but if all movies were relatable or true & possible, then all we would have in theaters would be documentaries. Bottom line is, I loved this film, very, very, much & I have watched it over and over & I still laugh everytime. What do I mean by all of this? BUY IT. Period."