The Perfect Man

The story of a family that wanted it all. Never settle.
Official site | Synopsis | Awards | DVD | Review | Interview

Directed by	Mark Rosman
Produced by	Billy Higgins
Written by	Gina Wendkos
Starring	Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, Chris Noth, Aria Wallace
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Released	June 17, 2005 ( USA)
Running time	100 min.
Language	English
Budget	US$10,000,000

Cast overview, first billed only

Hilary Duff	Holly Hamilton
Heather Locklear	Jean Hamilton
Chris Noth	Ben Cooper
Mike O'Malley	Lenny Horton
Ben Feldman	Adam Forrest
Vanessa Lengies	Amy Pearl
Caroline Rhea	Gloria
Kym Whitley	Dolores
Aria Wallace	Zoe Hamilton
Carson Kressley	Lance
Michelle Nolden	Amber
Maggie Castle	Wichita Girl
Gerry Mendicino	Market Co-Worker
James McGowan	Jean's Suitor
Philip Akin	English Teacher

The Perfect Man is a 2005 romantic comedy drama film directed by Mark Rosman and written by Gina Wendkos. It stars Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear and Chris Noth. The film was both a critical and commercial failure.

Plot and/or ending details follow

Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear in The Perfect Man.

Single mother Jean (Heather Locklear) moves every time she gets her heart broken by another guy, much to the dismay of her teenager daughter, Holly (Hilary Duff). Holly devises a plan to invent a secret admirer for her mother, so she'll be happy and stop moving. Holly overhears her friend Amy's (Vanessa Lengies) uncle Ben (Chris Noth) ordering flowers for a woman, and decides to use his advice on women (which she aquires by telling him she needs help for a school project on romance). Following Ben's advice, she sends her mother orchids and other gifts and love notes, and is soon communicating with her mother as this fictitious admirer (who Holly names Ben) via the internet. As her mother becomes more interested, Holly has to find a photo of this admirer (she sends one of the real Ben), and then devise a reason they can't meet in person (she claims he is working in China).

While she is developing the cyber romance between her mother and fake Ben, and preventing her mother and the real Ben from meeting in person, she finds herself drawn to a cute, artistic boy in her class, Adam (Ben Feldman), but is unwilling to get close to anyone due to her history of being uprooted and having to say goodbye so often.

As the charade continues, and as Holly spends more time with Ben while picking his brain for romance tips, she slowly begins to see

qualities in Ben which make her believe he is her mother's 'perfect man.' Unfortunately there is no way her mother can ever meet the real Ben without Holly's plan being exposed. When Holly mistakenly believes Ben is marrying someone else, she disrupts the wedding to tell Ben he should be with her mother - not noticing he is there as the best man, not the groom. An angry Ben follows her out and makes her tell him the full story. Holly then goes to her mother and admits the truth, begging for them to move again. Her mother is humiliated but decides to stay, finding a new job and for once trying to rebuild her life without running away. Meanwhile Ben is intrigued by what Holly told him about her mother, and with Holly's help, Jean and Ben finally meet and Jean finds her 'perfect man' at last. Holly also seems on the road to her perfect man, as now she has some stability in her life, she finally opens up and admits her feelings for Adam.

Synopsis

 A girl plays Cupid for her mom, but has to invent the right man to woo her in this romantic comedy. Jean Hamilton (Heather Locklear) is a single mother with two daughters, teenaged Holly (Hilary Duff) and grade-school-aged Zoe (Aria Wallace). Fortysomething Jean has stumbled in and out of a number of bad relationships in her lifetime, and is desperate to find a good man; however, Holly has grown a bit tired of Jean's favored means of therapy after a bad breakup -- packing up the family and moving to a new city. Once Jean and her girls settle in Brooklyn, Holly thinks they should stay for a while, and when Jean's romantic prospects begin to look less than rosy, Holly and her new friend Amy (Vanessa Lengies) decide to invent a secret admirer for her. Needing advice on what the "perfect man" would say and do, Holly and Amy turn to Ben (Chris Noth), Amy's uncle who talks a very good game when it comes to romance. But convincing Jean that there's a real man behind the steady stream of letters and e-mails from her new admirer isn't as easy as Holly imagines, and it looks as if her imaginary suitor might get in the way of a flesh-and-blood Mr. Right.

 

Awards: 1 nomination

Awards for
The Perfect Man (2005)

Razzie Awards
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
2006	Nominated	Razzie Award	Worst Actress Hilary Duff Also for Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005).

Awards and nominations
2005 Golden Raspberry Awards
One nomination:
Worst Actress (Hilary Duff)

Review

Skip the movie, and rent Mermaids from Netflix instead. I'm so sick of production companies recycling good movies to make them vehicles for their new "It Girls". They wonder why theater attendance is down...all they have to do is realize people aren't going to pay $8.50 to see a movie that was made and released 15 years ago, remade with a different cast. Get some original screenplays, hire some real actors and show me something I haven't seen before. Come on Sheeple!! What the heck are they doing here. I love going to the movies, but they seriously need to start competing with themselves. I mean, they might as well just dust off the old black and white westerns and colorize them.

DVD

Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance

Plot Summary: Teenager Holly Hamilton (Hilary Duff) is tired of moving every time her single mom Jean (Heather Locklear)...

User Comments: remakes, remakes and more remakes

MPAA: Rated PG for some mildly suggestive content.
Runtime: 100 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color
Sound Mix: DTS / Dolby Digital / SDDS
Certification: Finland:K-3 / Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) / Argentina:Atp / Philippines:PG-13 / Singapore:PG / Spain:T / USA:PG / Australia:PG / UK:PG / Ireland:PG

Trivia

The lead singer of the Styx tribute band was Styx's actual lead singer until 1999, 'Dennis De Young' .

Goofs

Continuity: When Jean is waiting at the bridge talking with Holly, Jean's shawl is down on her elbows. In the next scene it is over her shoulders.

Quotes
Amy Pearl: I paid fifty dollars for mine, you?
Holly Hamilton: Free, I pulled them out of a garbage somewhere in Wheelingsport.
Amy Pearl: You win.

User Comments

32 out of 56 people found the following comment useful:-
remakes, remakes and more remakes, 19 June 2005

Interview with Hilary Duff at the Hollywood Premiere of "The Perfect Man"

Hilary Duff and “The Perfect Man:” Hilary Duff stars as Holly, a teenager who loves her mother but is tired of picking up and moving whenever her mom, Jean (played by Heather Locklear), ends a romantic relationship. Holly not only hates being uprooted but she also really wants her single mom to find happiness. Not the best judge of character, Jean always seems to fall for a guy who winds up breaking her heart. In order to stop the cycle and help her mom see just how special she is, Holly has to invent the perfect man.

Hilary Duff on the Appeal of “The Perfect Man: “I loved the relationship between the mother and daughter, the love that they found and the romance. It has a lot of heart. I think it gives people faith out there and reminds them that fate is still out there, especially in this day and age, that nice things really do happen like that.”

The Set of “The Perfect Man:” “It was incredible. I loved working with Heather. I made two really good friends out of the movie – Vanessa [Lengies] and Ben [Feldman]. We filmed in Toronto so we were like the only people we had up there, so I got really great friendships out of it. And the story’s sweet, you know? It’s about romance and kind of a mother/daughter’s relationship and the struggle that everybody goes through with their mother at a certain age. It’s funny and it’s sad and it’ll make you cry. There’s also a lot of physical comedy in it. There’s something in it for everyone. Even good dating tips…”

Bonding with Her Onscreen Mom, Heather Locklear: “We met a day before we were about – like the night before we were about to film a big crying, screaming scene with each other. So we didn’t have much time to get to know each other, but I was just stoked that she was doing the movie. She’s so beautiful and we just instantly got along. In between the takes we were like chitter chatty and like girls. She obviously has great stories that she told me. We had lots to talk about. She’s a really good person to confide in. She’s really a positive energy on the set. It’s nice.”

Hilary Duff on Growing Up in Front of the Camera: “…I’m pretty professional and I work hard and I kind of work like an adult. But I have my immature side, too. I like to goof off.”

Duff on Being Greeted by Cheering Fans at the Movie’s Hollywood Premiere: “I don’t know if it’s overwhelming. I think it’s a relief. When you come to an event like this that’s kind of your own, you’re like, ‘What if nobody shows up? What if there’s four people?’ Hopefully all of these people will go see the movie and enjoy it.”