The Perfect Man

The Perfect Man | |
| Rated: | None |
| Director: | Mark Rosman |
| Cast: | Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, Chris Noth, Mike O'Malley, Ben Feldman, Aria Wallace |
| Release Date: | 2005 |
| Genre: | Romantic Comedy |
Not much more than a string of demi-crises quick-cured with glib Dr. Phil-isms, The Perfect Man’s real goal is to expand Hilary Duff’s appeal beyond the 11-and-under demographic. (Not possible.) Duff is a teen whose marriage-desperate mom (Heather Locklear) drags her all over the country in search of the movie’s title object, eventually settling in Brooklyn, N.Y. Duff creates an online lover based on a local restaurateur (Chris Noth) for Mom, alternately leading to Oedipally discomforting moments of the two IMing each other intimacies and the inevitable mistaken identity hijinks. While Lindsay Lohan has created an amusing career out of looking flustered, Duff attempting the same comes off looking perpetually constipated. Still, a repeating semimeta Styx riff, Queer Eye’s Carson Kressley as a man-hungry bartender, and an amiable tone make The Perfect Man a vast improvement over the blank-eyed, Christian-style Children of the Damned Duffery of last year’s Raise Your Voice.