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BY ALICIA POTTER
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Perfection never enters into director Mark Rosman’s insipid comedy drama — starting with the implausibility of sexy Heather Locklear as a desperate single mother who can’t keep a guy. When yet another relationship sours, Locklear’s Jean packs up the kids and moves. This time, it’s to New York City, where her pained teenage daughter (Hilary Duff) tries to lift the depression Cyrano-style. Pumping a friend’s uncle (Chris Noth, looking constipated) for advice, she concocts a secret admirer through a snowballing series of e-mails, calls, and instant messages. In the more painful sequences, the characters read the lame missives out loud slowly, often with a trickle of tears. Also producing near-sobs are the cringe-worthy performances of Mike O’Malley as Jean’s Styx-loving date and liver-lipped Carson Kressley (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) as a horny barkeep. Locklear and Duff make an appealing duo, yet their mother-daughter bonding is squandered when the predictable ending nullifies the rah-rah themes of self-esteem, trust, and independence. Unlike the real deal, this Perfect Man deserves to be dumped. At the Flagship, Opera House, Providence Place 16, Showcase, and Tri-Boro cinemas. (96 minutes)
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