Hilary Duff's new romantic comedy, The Perfect Man, is a perfect case of counter-programming.
Most of the summer films currently in cinemas are aimed at young males, so here comes one specifically tailored for women of all ages.
The only requirement is that they not be too demanding.
The Perfect Man is silly, contrived and lightweight. It's also quite amusing, given its preposterous premise.
The stunning and sexy Heather Locklear is Jean Hamilton, a creative, successful pastry chef who just can't find a man, but wants one desperately.
It seems she can only attract rejects, cheaters and losers.
Every time a relationship fails, and they do on a regular basis, Jean packs up her two daughters and moves to a new town.
Oldest daughter Holly (Hilary Duff) is entering her final year of high school, so she is desperate to stay at a school long enough to know her classmates and find a proper date.
There's a younger daughter (Aria Wallace), but mom and sis pretty much ignore her, as does the screenplay. She's window dressing.
At least Vanessa Lengies, as Holly's new-found friend Amy, has an essential purpose.
It's Amy who introduces Holly to her rich, handsome and worldly uncle, Ben Cooper (Chris Noth).
Ben knows how to treat a woman, so Holly and Amy pump him for information so they can create the imaginary perfect man to become Jean's e-mail lover.
Poor Jean is such a pushover, she actually falls for the mysterious computer date.
It happened for Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail, so perhaps it's not as outrageous an idea as it first seems.
The cast is excellent because Duff does look a little like a young Locklear and both women have electric smiles.
It's undeniably funny to see Locklear's character so desperate that she'll tell men at a PTA meeting that she's available.
Sadly, no one takes notice, so she has to date Lenny (Mike O'Malley), a cuddly but dumb bear of a fellow at the bakery.
Duff is as bubbly as she was on her Lizzie McGuire TV show. With Holly, she comes closest to actually creating a character and not just using her own persona to get by, as she did in Raise Your Voice and A Cinderella Story.
Noth has another thankless role, but he too smiles his way through it.
With so little going for it, you have to give The Perfect Man credit for being so inoffensive and charming.
Because everything else in theatres is so male-oriented, the only way The Perfect Man is going to suffer is by comparison to the far superior The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
(This film is rated PG)
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