The Perfect Man

The Perfect Man is a cutesy-poo, happy-go-lucky little movie about horrible, irresponsible, selfish people. A blindly disconcerting fantasy aimed at undiscriminating 'tween girls, the film stars Hilary Duff as a perky high schooler who isn't smart or sensitive enough to realize that inventing a secret admirer to send flowers and flirtatious e-mails to her lonely mother (Heather Locklear) is not just a gross invasion of privacy, but also downright cruel. As her scheme inevitably spins out of control, Duff causes $100,000-plus in damage to a restaurant, ruins a stranger's wedding in an insultingly contrived misunderstanding, doesn't learn a single lesson from any of this, and never apologizes--not even to her mom--because these terrible blunders are all supposed to be oh-so-adorable and funny. Locklear's stinking-of-desperation mother isn't any better, dragging her kids cross-country every time a loser boyfriend dumps her or cheats. When The Perfect Man isn't candy-coating rampant family dysfunction, it's wallowing in pathetic teen-movie clichés. One saving grace: Chris Noth (Sex and the City), who turns Mom's eventual--and predictable--love interest into the movie's only authentically human character. Not recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Mark Rosman and producer Adam Siegel, deleted scenes (19 min.), a “Getting the Perfect Look” featurette on makeup and wardrobe (7 min.), “On the Set with Hilary: Blogs & Buddies” (6 min.), five minutes of outtakes, a “Mom & Me” featurette on co-stars Duff and Locklear (5 min.), a “Ready, Set, Soak, Shoot!” featurette on creating a particular scene in the film (5 min.), brief interviews with Duff, Locklear, and Noth, “The Sweet Arts: Creating the Cakes” featurette (3 min.), a brief “The Clever Clapper” segment about the comical clapboard crewmember, and trailers. Bottom line: a generous extras package for a stinker of a film.] (R. Blackwelder)