Hilary Duff has had enough. Every time one of her single mother's doomed relationships end, the family is packed up and moved to another city. This time the destination is New York, and since there couldn't possibly be any decent guys in a city of eight million, she invents one.
Welcome to the alternate reality of The Perfect Man, where Heather Locklear has trouble finding a man. The men here are divided into two distinct groups: the slobbering, clueless, blatant idiots, and the sweet, sensitive kind who spew forth dialogue designed to make 13-year-old female audience members swoon in their seats.
Since Mommy Locklear has trouble distinguishing between Group A and Group B, it's up to Holly (Duff) to show her that the right guy is out there. So she begins sending her mom flowers and fake love letters, all under the guise of some perfect secret admirer.
This, of course, causes all sorts of high jinks to ensue. Holly and her friends must run around pretending to be people who they aren't, while simultaneously trying to fend off the newest loser boyfriend. Some of this is actually funny, like when said boyfriend climbs up the side of the apartment to serenade Locklear with Styx blaring out of a boom box. Say Anything, this isn't.
Salvation comes in the form of the uncle (Chris Noth) of one of Holly's friends. At first, he just gives Holly advice on how to stage her secret-admirer stunt, but soon it's apparent she has found her man. We know this because, like Locklear, he also does the New York Times crossword puzzle.
Meanwhile, Holly has attracted the geeky comic-book boy at school. He's clearly the sweet and sensitive kind, but since Holly has learned not to get attached, she doesn't let him in. You can see where all of this is headed.
The trouble is not with the characters, who are likable if not exactly charming. Nor is it with the humor, which is broad but effective. The problem is with how obvious and one-sided everything is.
The filmmakers want to say something meaningful about single parents, relationships and about not running away from your problems. Instead, they have made a movie with none of the complexities of life, full of emotions and devoid of intellect. It's half a movie for half an audience.