'Perfect Man' is an imperfect showcase for the talents of teen star

There's no royalty involved, but the summer's Hilary Duff vehicle, "The Perfect Man," fits squarely in Hollywood's busy cycle of teenage Cinderella movies that began with 2001's "The Princess Diaries" and was last represented by Duff's 2004 "A Cinderella Story."

MOVIE REVIEW

THE PERFECT MAN

DIRECTOR: Mark Rosman

CAST: Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, Chris North

RUNNING TIME: 96 minutes

RATING: PG for some mildly suggestive content

GRADE: C

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Only this time, the teen heroine (Duff) is the fairy godmother, and the pathetic woman (Heather Locklear) in the market for a Prince Charming is her single mother, a mid-40-ish loser who always picks the wrong man and has given up on her dreams of becoming a celebrity baker.

Even by the limited expectations of its genre, the movie is not much, and it's also not much of a showcase for Duff, who looks too old for her part. Still, it's harmless enough adolescent escapism, and the mother-daughter chemistry is occasionally touching.

As the film opens, 16 year-old Holly Hamilton -- tired of moving around the country in the wake of Mom's romantic disasters -- has finally put down roots and made friends in a new home: Wichita, Kan. But, minutes after the title sequence, they're on the road again.

When they land in a fantasy version of Brooklyn and Mr. Wrong (Mike O'Malley) once again starts knocking on Mom's door, it's too much, and Holly decides to get rid of the creep by inventing the title character, in whose name she sends her mother flowers and gushy e-mails.

Naturally, all sorts of complications ensue -- especially when the Holly's model for the character (Chris North) pops up for real in Mom's life -- and, of course, Holly has commitment issues of her own to work out with her sensitive high school suitor (Ben Feldman).

The filmmakers are old hands at this sort of fluff: screenwriter Gina Wendkos toiled on both "The Princess Diaries" and "Princess Diaries 2," and director Mark Rosman helmed Duff's "Cinderella Story" and 15 episodes of her "Lizzie McGuire" TV-series.

Yet 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. Rare for a Duff film, the script has so little confidence in itself it even resorts to a few bathroom jokes.

Another part of the problem is Duff, who a few months before her 18th birthday, does not play 16 convincingly. Like Molly Ringwald, one suspects she will not carry her teen-star phenomenon into her 20s.

On the other hand, Locklear makes no effort to disguise her 44 years. The veteran of many TV bimbo roles gives an assured, textured and often very funny performance that's considerably better than the movie around her.

P-I movie critic William Arnold can be reached at 206-448-8185 or williamarnold@seattlepi.com