The Perfect Man
Universal Pictures | Release Date: June 17, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
27
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
11
Negative:
18
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
58
Portland OregonianChris Hewitt
In Duff's movies, the question is whether the movie will find enough interesting stuff to compensate for the blandness at the center. The Perfect Man does. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
This cream puff of a romantic comedy is sweet enough, but lack of substance makes it deeply unsatisfying. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Even though the supporting cast is likable and the film hits all the beats of its formula, it's weak, as if everyone has been to the well one too many times. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
It's a chick flick with a vengeance but even in its most sentimental moments, stars Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear make this feel-good-about-yourself movie feel ... well, good. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
To be endured rather than enjoyed. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
I've had the unique pleasure of reviewing almost all of Duff's movies, and if there's one thing to say about the girl, she's consistent: nice, sweet, blond, inoffensive and uninspiring. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie Punter
But for a lightweight summer romantic comedy, The Perfect Man delivers the goods and includes a couple of scenes that are, surprisingly, fresh and quite funny, both of which, incidentally, involve the music of Styx. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderStaff (Not credited)
The premise is patently ridiculous, but the target audience of 12-year-old girls will be too charmed by the genre requisites to care. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Where Locklear's careful, clipped delivery confirms that she's better suited for TV stardom than the movies, every time Duff opens her mouth, she confirms that her natural home is in magazines. Or voicing animated squirrels. Either one would work. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Rosman and Wendkos run dry of ideas in the film's inert, overextended finale, when the "Believe in yourself" speeches grow so thick that even the Duff-devoted may start rolling their eyes. Read full review
40
VarietyJoe Leydon
For most part, The Perfect Man is too bland to merit anything more censorious than a stifled yawn. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
There's one thing to be said for The Perfect Man: It confirms my belief that I'll never need to see another Hilary Duff movie until (1) she turns 30 or (2) she plays a crackhead in "Requiem for a Dream II." Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The story has a definite ick factor that detracts from even the small pleasures the movie might offer its teen audience. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
This movie makes it official: No matter how awful, even the networks and basic cable are now officially hipper than the studios. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
A series of cutesy but flat-footed jokes leading up to a foregone romantic conclusion. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
The movie is a tortured marshmallow. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
The Perfect Man is like Teen People come to life. It's perfectly PG, and it's probably not the worst thing a young lady could see, depending on your criteria. Cinematically, it's like watching your lawn grow. Read full review
30
Village VoiceMatt Singer
The result is like a Nike commercial without a shot of the sneakers. Read full review
30
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
It's a lame Heather Locklear romantic comedy and a lame Hilary Duff romantic comedy all in one! Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Repetitious teen-targeted fluff. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Embarrassingly shoddy film. Read full review
25
USA TodayStaff [Not Credited]
So imperfect that it may qualify as one of the summer's worst movies. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
Most of this movie is beyond lame. It almost makes "A Cinderella Story" -- the ever-mugging Duff's surprise hit of last summer -- look like a real movie by comparison. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The Perfect Man crawls hand over bloody hand up the stony face of this plot, while we in the audience do not laugh because it is not nice to laugh at those less fortunate than ourselves, and the people in this movie are less fortunate than the people in just about any other movie I can think of, simply because they are in it. Read full review
25
Philadelphia InquirerKaren Heller
Once upon a time there were made-for-television movies. Now there are made-for-television movies for movie theaters. The Perfect Man, another anemic Hilary Duff vehicle, is a case in point. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
There's just the matter of facing it: that The Perfect Man is just something slapped together -- by people who don't care, for an audience they figure will care even less. Read full review
20
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Baby, when you walk out of a movie thinking, "Say, that Heather Locklear was pretty darn good," the movie's got some problems! Read full review
10
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The range of Ms. Locklear's lobotomized acting runs from mild irritation to mild melancholy, expressed without expression. Read full review
0
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
What sin did Heather Locklear commit to deserve her role in The Perfect Man? Read full review
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