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The Perfect Man
By Cynthia Fuchs,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Lighthearted comedy deals with serious issues.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Based on 2 parent reviews
Onlt in Hollywood
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Hilary Duff you rock!
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What's the Story?
THE PERFECT MAN centers on 16-year-old Holly (Hilary Duff), who worries that her mom, a baker named Jean (Heather Locklear), keeps moving their family from place to place. Apparently, mom only dates louses and cheats, whom she escapes by literally running away. When they move to New York City, Holly devises a plan to keep the family in place: she invents a "perfect man," based in part on romantic advice she solicits from Ben (Chris Noth), a handsome restaurateur who also happens to be the uncle to her new best friend Amy (Vanessa Lengies). Soon Holly is sending her mom flowers and writing her letters from the made up "Ben" to distract her from lumpy, well-meaning bread-baker Lenny (Mike O'Malley). Things get complicated when Jean finds out that Holly is having her own romantic troubles with a nice boy and comic book artist named Adam (Ben Feldman), and writes him emails while pretending to be Holly. The mixed-up identities are eventually sorted out, but not before some difficulties arise and both Jean and Holly endure some sadness and disappointment in one another.
Is It Any Good?
A mostly lighthearted, double-layered romantic comedy that deals with serious issues, The Perfect Man resembles previous Hilary Duff movies in tone and resolution. To grant Holly some space to express herself, the movie uses the Internet: she keeps a blog (called "Girl on the Move") and starts writing emails to Jean, supposedly from "Ben." This leads to a partly comic, partly strange situation where she's essentially flirting with her mother. While kids won't likely think much of this, the visualization of the idea -- mother and daughter at their computer screens, writing romantic notes to one another -- is at least odd.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the difficult relationship between mother and child, as each wants to support the other, but neither is able to speak openly at first. How might open communication about basic concerns (daughter's upset by the family's repeated moves, mother's worry about being single) resolve tensions between them? How does the Internet/email both allow communication and limit it? How does the daughter's budding romance complicate her concerns for her mother and sister's well-being?
Movie Details
- In theaters: June 17, 2005
- On DVD or streaming: November 1, 2005
- Cast: Heather Locklear , Hilary Duff
- Director: Mark Rosman
- Inclusion Information: Female actors
- Studio: Universal Pictures
- Genre: Comedy
- Run time: 96 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- MPAA explanation: some mildly suggestive content
- Last updated: June 19, 2023
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