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Parents' Guide to

Beauty and the Briefcase

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Duff hunts for a mate in a bit sexed up, but sweet TV movie.

Movie NR 2011 86 minutes
Beauty and the Briefcase Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 11+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 13+

cute movie

I really liked this movie, Hillary Duff has many funny scenes. Kinda cheesy but in a good way.
age 10+

Basically, the bad outweighs the good

I was disappointed with the portrayal of women as shallow, incompetent and deceptive. The film features an impressive cast, yet suffers from slipshod writing and almost-bad acting--especially from lead Hilary Duff, who delivers a performance more suited to her early work on the Disney Channel (juvenile, shrill and insipid, yet somehow still endearing). Characters are very two-dimensional, themes and plot are predictable and childish, which honestly can be confusing given the film's mildly sexual undertones and cautious attempts at profanity.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (10 ):

Mature teens shouldn't have a problem putting the movie's frequent sexual references, language, and adult drinking into context, but this same content makes it inappropriate for tweens. Similarly, teens can reconcile Lane's self-motivated behavior (embellishing her qualifications to get a job, and dating coworkers without regard to their feelings, for example) and recognize the personal journey she makes toward happiness.

Based on the book Diary of a Working Girl by Daniella Brodsky, BEAUTY AND THE BRIEFCASE stars a very grown-up Duff, who really delights in her role as an ambitious writer and hopeless romantic who often finds these two sides of herself at odds with each other. Lane's evolution from a career-driven diva to someone who's willing to compromise for love is a good reminder that happiness falls in the balance between two people's ideas of perfection.

Movie Details

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