The Perfect Man (2005)

5% of critics liked it
(117 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(264,092 ratings)

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… More 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. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Mark Rosman
Written By: Gina Wendkos
Genres: Comedy, Romance

In Theaters: Jun 17, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Nov 1, 2005
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
The premise is patently ridiculous, but the target audience of 12-year-old girls will be too charmed by the genre requisites to care.
Matt Singer, Village Voice
Like a Nike commercial without a shot of the sneakers.
Joe Leydon, Variety
[The] situation is mined mostly for mild chuckles and tepid sentiment.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
The Perfect Man has a plot that turns sweet and charming Hillary Duff into a serial liar. She's not just telling little fibs. She's engaging in a prolonged and kind of mean practical joke on her mother.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
Mostly the movie produces yawns when it's not producing awe that someone even bothered to make it.
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
In the cautionary dystopian science-fiction parable The Perfect Man, we are offered a terrifying vision of a possible future: a world ruled by Hilary Duff.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
I can't see anyone really enjoying this.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Hollywood cranks out another prosaic teen-girl-romantic-comedy from its bottomless cultural vacuum in this Hilary Duff vehicle that no non-female person over the age of 12 should suffer through.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
It's funny, poignant and the characters are appealing.
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Lighthearted comedy that also deals with serious issues.
David Noh, Film Journal International
The sparkling charm which Duff once evinced has largely faded with familiarity and too many indifferent projects.
Carolyn Arends, Christianity Today
The Perfect Man, starring Hilary Duff, isn't very good. The problem is how to critique it without taking the obvious cheap shots at its likable but over-exposed young star.
Anna Smith, Time Out
None of the leads convince or engage, and supporting characters are either gay stereotypes, routine little sisters or functional best friends.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
Many scenes from the previews aren't in the film -- a telltale sign of desperate last-minute tampering.
, Empire Magazine
The occasional one-liner is wasted amid a sea of clichés and preposterous situations in this Duff vehicle that forgot to put the romance in romantic comedy.
, Sydney Morning Herald
Keeping the ruse going involves gifts and notes of the "just missed you" variety.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
With an emphasis on wacky misunderstandings and situations, the film has all the complexity of a sitcom (a thoroughly mediocre sitcom at that).
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Excuse me, but who are these people?
Stella Papamichael, BBC
Everything bad about teen chick flicks is encapsulated in The Perfect Man.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Disappointing romantic comedy that starts well but then takes a nosedive into cliché and sickly sweet sentimentality.

Read all 21 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Bethany M

Really enjoyed this film! A great feel good film!
Cassie H

Holly Hamilton(Hilary Duff) is tired of moving from place to place because of her mother's failed relationships. They move to Brooklyn & Holly's mother takes a job in a bakery ran by her friend Dolores. So Holly, her mom Jean (Heather Locklear) & Holly's sister… More
Holly Hamilton(Hilary Duff) is tired of moving from place to place because of her mother's failed relationships. They move to Brooklyn & Holly's mother takes a job in a bakery ran by her friend Dolores. So Holly, her mom Jean (Heather Locklear) & Holly's sister Zoe (Aria Wallace), are again getting a chance to start over there lives in Brooklyn. Holly makes friends with the rebellious Amy Pearl (Vanessa Lengies) & the cute but somewhat shy Adam Forrest (Ben Feldman). One day they go to Amy's uncles restaurant, The River Bistro, ran by her Uncle Ben (Chris Noth), who is a firm believer in romance. He tells Holly, who is a cynic when it comes to love, about the ways to a woman's heart. This prompts Holly to create what she thinks is "the perfect man". With the help of Amy & Adam, she does various things to make her mother believe that she has a secret admirer that adores her. Whenever Jean starts to get suspicious about Ben (supposedly her secret admirer), Holly has Adam call her mother & pretend to be Ben & break up with her. The plan fails when Adam is thinking about Holly while making the phone call. In the end everything is a disaster & Jean is left broken hearted & Holly is a mess. Holly then tells her mother that she wants to move & her mother reluctantly agrees. When Adam comes by to find Holly, Jean tells him that she is out getting packing boxes because they're moving. When she asks if she should tell Holly that Adam came bye he gives Jean a drawing to give to Holly & to tell her that there was another side of a drawing that he drew for her. On the back of the first drawing is a drawing of Adam & Holly & the quote coming out of Adam's mouth is that he'll always be there for Holly. Later on whenever Jean is online, she talks to Adam pretending that she's Holly & she finds out the Adam is in love with Holly. The next day Jean decides that they're not moving at first Holly is upset but after she sees Adam's drawing she is happy again. Jean finally meets Ben when he comes to her bakery & even though she tells him that she's not dating at the moment he says that he'll pick her up at eight on Saturday & she agrees. The ending of this fabulously cute & charming movie is Holly going to a dance with Adam. She takes his breath away when he sees her in her beautiful red dress. In the end Holly & her family are finally happy & are settled down in Brooklyn. This is the perfect movie to watch with your best friends & your mom & sister. I recommend it! :) You won't mind looking at Ben Feldman or Chris Noth either! :)
Nicki M

Really sweet little movie aimed at teen and tween girls. I have to admit to a soft spot for Hilary Duff's teen movies. By no means masterpieces, but nice little feel good stories that you can just enjoy if you are not in the mood for anything confronting. Hilary is extremely… More
Really sweet little movie aimed at teen and tween girls. I have to admit to a soft spot for Hilary Duff's teen movies. By no means masterpieces, but nice little feel good stories that you can just enjoy if you are not in the mood for anything confronting. Hilary is extremely likeable onscreen and this one sees her trying to set her single mum, played by Heather Locklear, up with the uncle of her friend. I also enjoyed seeing Caroline Rhea (another guilty confession - I was a Sabrina fan! And not even that young at the time!).
Dead A

I like Hilary Duff, but this movie wasn't that great. I mean it was watchable. Nothing special.
Luke B

Cute but retarded film for teenage girls. It has one of the dumbest film characters in Heather Locklear, a woman who moves cities, along with her two children, whenever a relationship goes wrong. This is pretty much the set-up for the movie and it's an annoying one. The film also… More
Cute but retarded film for teenage girls. It has one of the dumbest film characters in Heather Locklear, a woman who moves cities, along with her two children, whenever a relationship goes wrong. This is pretty much the set-up for the movie and it's an annoying one. The film also takes a very obvious route to try and bring some closure. At one point it seemed as though, Locklear was going to choose the guy that didn't seem perfect, but certainly made an effort. Obviously this can't happen in something so sugary and blinded by a dreamworld of simplistic solutions.
Red L

Very predictable cutesy movie. It only works if you are in love with Hilary Duff somehow.
Dean M

Garnering more groans than giggles, Hilary Duff makes a fine performance as the eldest daughter of a single mother takes matters into her own hands by creating a secret admirer for her mother who can't live without a man in her life. There is just one truly hilarious scene in the… More
Garnering more groans than giggles, Hilary Duff makes a fine performance as the eldest daughter of a single mother takes matters into her own hands by creating a secret admirer for her mother who can't live without a man in her life. There is just one truly hilarious scene in the film.
Rachel F

This was a pretty cute movie.
James A

Technically I didnt watch this movie ,but listening to it while on the computer as my girlfriend watched it I could only say I wish I could rate it lower than half a star.
Leigh R

It was alright.
Mouhannad S

"The Perfect Man" The movie was completely unrealistic. Half of what happened, wouldn't really happen in anyone's average lifetime. Their scheme to find the "perfect man" was pretty crappy, if you ask me. And it wouldn't work. The acting was okay,… More
"The Perfect Man" The movie was completely unrealistic. Half of what happened, wouldn't really happen in anyone's average lifetime. Their scheme to find the "perfect man" was pretty crappy, if you ask me. And it wouldn't work. The acting was okay, but only okay. Nothing special about the characters or anything really. There was really no need for Hilary Duff to be in this movie. She has talent, while the person required to play the main character in this movie could have very well been some random person off the street.an"
Burger S

If you are a Styx fan (or a Heather Locklear stalker)...it's worth it, otherwise don't bother.
Dannielle A

A cheesey and unedifying movie. The actions of Duff's character were dishonest and lewd, yet the moral is: the end justifies the means. LAME!
Brett W

Hilary Duff IS the perfect man...this fall on NBC.
Marion R

More romantic comedy fluff.
Janice :

Horrible, horrible, horrible! Everyone knows the perfect man doesn't exist! The perfect woman does ;D
Haley A

Predictable and no acting talent.