The Perfect Man

The Perfect Man isn’t perfect at all; it isn’t even good. The all-too-bubbly Hilary Duff stars as a fashion victim—in a wrapping-paper dress over her faded jeans and trashy pumps—who is fed up with switching states every time her single mom’s desperate heart breaks. So the tired teen and her conveniently instant high school friend seek help from the friend’s bistro-owning uncle. With his unquestioned relationship tips, the matchmakers conjure up the titular “perfect man.” However, a Pillsbury Doughboy and his precious Pontiac, the naïve mom (played in this career-stopper by former heartthrob Heather Locklear) and the childish script by The Princess Diaries writer Gina Wendkos get in the way. Director Mark Rosman of 2004’s A Cinderella Story needs to get a reality check, because his fairytale films are the equivalent of a poisonous apple.