RATING:
PG for some mildly suggestive
content
RELEASE:
June 17, 2005
DVD RELEASE:
Nov. 1, 2005
GENRE:
Comedy, Romance
STARRING:
Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear,
Aria Wallace, Chris Noth, Caroline Rhea
DIRECTOR:
Mark Rosman
DISTRIBUTOR:
Universal Pictures
Please Note
In providing movie reviews on our site, CBN.com is not endorsing or recommending films we review. Our goal is to provide Christians with information about the latest movies, both the good and the bad, so that our readers may make an informed decision as to whether or not films are appropriate for them and their families.
MOVIE REVIEW
The Perfect Man
By Elliott Ryan
Guest Reviewer
CBN.com
One of the most important lessons Hollywood has taught
me in recent years is that children are almost always smarter
than their parents. Adults, according to countless cute movies
starring precocious child actors, are stupid. They can easily
be outwitted by the very children they are raising. Take for example
The Perfect Man starring Heather Locklear and Hilary
Duff.
Jean, played by Locklear (Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Uptown
Girls) is the mother of two daughters, one a teenager, Holly (played
by Duff), and the other about eight years old. Jean has been ruining
not only her life but also the lives of her daughters by constantly
running away from her problems. She is desperate to get married
so she won’t end up alone. Her desperation causes her to
date less than savory characters. Every time one of these relationships
ends, (and they always do) mom packs up her family and all of
their worldly possessions and moves to a completely different
state to start over.
She doesn’t realize that this is causing her daughters
pain. She doesn’t notice that they aren’t making friends
or getting involved in school activities because there is no point
in doing so when they will just have to move again soon. She seems
completely oblivious to the fact that her own life never amounts
to much because it is just a series of new starts that never lead
to anything.
Fortunately for her, Holly, her oldest daughter, does realize
what is going on. And she sets out to put a stop to it. While
I won’t go into great detail so as not to spoil the plot,
the plan to fix the situation involves Duff’s character
deceiving and manipulating her mother and several other characters.
This
movie is supposed to be aimed mainly at teenage and pre-teen girls.
They would probably find the story to be cute. There are several
humorous scenes. I am not a member of the target audience and
yet I couldn’t help laughing out loud a few times. And Holly
really is trying to fix things for her family even though it is
in an extremely misguided way.
The problem is that many parents would be too offended by the
contents of this movie to allow their children to view it. The
most glaring affront is the inclusion of a homosexual character
whose sole purpose is to inject humor into the proceedings. But
it isn’t a type of humor that would entertain most Christians.
And certainly isn’t appropriate for their young children.
While there is no actual homosexual behavior displayed, the character
(played by Carson Kressley from TV’s Queer Eye for the Straight
Guy) makes it clear that, like Holly’s mom, he too is looking
for the perfect man. This and several more adult references (although
there isn’t much actual profanity) make this movie unsuitable
for family audiences.
Yet, that is exactly who the advertising campaign is targeting.
Teens and preteens who are fans of Duff’s work will probably
attend this movie in droves. Perhaps their parents should be a
bit more cautious about what they send their girls out to watch.
The movie does redeem itself somewhat in the end, teaching a
valuable lesson for both Holly and her mother, so the movie is
not terrible. It just isn’t that great either. I think even
most teenage girls who watch it will be smart enough to realize
that. I just hope their parents are even smarter and find some
other way to entertain their families.
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