The Perfect Man

The Perfect Man is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Mark Rosman and written by Gina Wendkos. It stars Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, Ben Feldman and Chris Noth. Shooting for the film began in May 2004. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics, although the film was a box office success.

Teenager Holly Hamilton (Duff) is tired of moving every time her single mom Jean (Locklear) is through with her latest mistake of a man. To prevent her mother from making another bad decision, Holly has an idea: create a secret admirer who is the perfect man. However, things spin out of control and Holly has to improvise.

Plot
Single mother Jean relocates every time she gets her heart broken by another guy, much to the dismay of her teenage daughter, Holly. Holly devises a plan to invent a secret admirer for her mother, so she will be happy and not have to relocate anymore. Holly overhears her friend Amy's uncle Ben ordering flowers for a woman, and decides to use his advice on women (which she acquires 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 devises a reason why they cannot meet in person, claiming he is working in China. While she is developing the online 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, 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". However, there is no way her mother can ever meet the real Ben without Holly's plan being exposed. Holly asks for Adam's help to disguise as Ben in the telephone and break up with Jean. But he fails, as he is revealed to be harboring feelings for Holly as well, in effect telling Holly's mother the opposite of what is planned.

The following day at school, Holly confronts Adam angrily because of his failed attempt to disguise as Ben and break up with her mother over the phone did not go according to plan. Adam apologizes and tells Holly that he just got distracted. Holly demands to know what he could have possibly been distracted by and Adam admits his feelings for Holly by kissing her. That night, Lenny, a man who is infatuated with Jean, proposes to her and she replies with a "maybe". Holly, in an act of desperation, then disguises herself as Ben's secretary and arranges a meeting between Ben and her mother. The next day, when Holly mistakenly thinks Ben is marrying someone else, she disrupts the wedding to tell Ben he should be with her mother, not knowing he was there because the bride is his dear friend and he was catering the wedding. A disappointed Ben follows her out and she admits the full story. Holly then goes to the meeting place and admits the whole ruse to Jean, who seems to take it terribly. Days pass by and Holly and her mother maintain a cold relationship, and Holly is offended by her interpretation of Adam's drawing of "Princess Holly". Holly begs Jean for them to move again. Her mother is humiliated and wants to stay, but Holly tells her to leave this once for herself, as she always has to move for her mother. Her mother cannot argue with that so they start to pack. Adam, for what he thinks is the last time, goes to Holly's home and gives Holly's mother his drawing, commenting that the drawing has another side that Holly did not see before she left, which turns out to be Adam telling Holly that he will always be there for her.

Touched, Jean logs onto the Internet using Holly's screen name and talks to Adam. Adam, thinking it is Holly, says that her mom is setting a bad example, getting up and leaving when things get bad and that, in return, is making a bad role model for her own daughters. Jean is deeply moved by this and decides to stay, finding a new job and trying to rebuild her life without running away. She also apologizes to her daughter and tells her to look at the other side of the drawing, making Holly happy.

Meanwhile, Ben is inspired 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 is on the road to her perfect man as well since she has some stability in her life and finally opens up and admits her feelings for Adam. At the end, Adam and Holly go to their first school dance together.

Cast

 * Hilary Duff as Holly Hamilton, the film's protagonist.
 * Heather Locklear as Jean Hamilton, Holly's mother, a single baker desperately seeking love.
 * Ben Feldman as Adam Forrest, one of Holly's classmates and friends. Adam has a crush on Holly.
 * Chris Noth as Ben Cooper, Amy's uncle, owner of the River Bistro, and Holly's inspiration for the perfect man she creates for her mother.
 * Vanessa Lengies as Amy Pearl, Holly's classmate and best friend.
 * Mike O'Malley as Lenny Horton, employee at the bakery where Jean works.
 * Caroline Rhea as Gloria, Jean's friend and co-worker.
 * Kym Whitley as Dolores, Jean's friend and employer.
 * Aria Wallace as Zoe Hamilton, Holly's seven-year-old sister.
 * Carson Kressley as Lance, one of Ben's employees, a gay man also looking for love.
 * Michelle Nolden as Amber
 * Maggie Castle as Wichita Girl
 * Gerry Mendicino as Market Co-Worker
 * James McGowan as Jean's Suitor
 * Philip Akin as English Teacher
 * Jeff Lumby as Dr. Fitch
 * Monique Mojica as Principal Campbell
 * Amelia Winchester as Polly Smith

Production
Shooting for the film began in May 2004 and was based on screenwriter Heather Robinson's life in Tucson, Arizona. Carson Kressley missed two days of shooting on his reality makeover show, Queer Eye, due to filming on The Perfect Man overrunning. Queer Eye explained his absence by claiming the fashion expert was busy shopping. On the weekends, Duff was busy recording songs for her then-upcoming self-titled album.

Reception
Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 6% based on 115 reviews. The critical consensus describes the film as "a lifeless, occasionally creepy movie that gives romantic comedies a bad name". Metacritic rated the film as having "generally unfavorable reviews" and gave the film a score of 27% based on a normalized average of 29 reviews.

Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $5,300,980 million in 2,087 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking number eight at the box office, the best debut for a teen comedy film that week. By the end of its run, The Perfect Man grossed $16,535,005 domestically and $3,235,470 internationally, totaling $19,770,475 worldwide.

Soundtrack
The Perfect Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name, released on June 14, 2005, by independent label Curb Records.

Awards and nominations
2007 Teen Choice Awards
 * Best Actress Comedy (Hilary Duff) - (The Perfect Man & Cheaper By The Dozen 2)

2005 Golden Raspberry Awards
 * Worst Actress - Nomination - (Hilary Duff) - (The Perfect Man & Cheaper By The Dozen 2)
 * Lost to Jenny McCarthy - Dirty Love