Sadly Over-hyped

As Good As It Gets

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

(Plot) A freelance writer delves for romance and delivers a story to the Cosmopolitan Magazine about finding true love in the workplace area. She decides to go undercover to find out what it takes at a finance company I actually didn't mind it for what it was. With a title like Beauty & The Briefcase; what do people expect?! Hilary Duff has had a bit of a polarizing experience when it comes to movies. I've always liked Hilary. She's absolutely adorable, and manages to overcome weak scripts with pizazz a lot of the time, and here is no different. This is a made for T.V film, so it's not all that great. But watching Hilary Duff strut her stuff was very enjoyable to watch. Yeah. I dig her, sue me. The only thing that got on my nerves was her constant use of the word "Magic Man" Will I ever find my magic man? They overdid that whole thing in my opinion, and it got a bit repetitive, but that's a minor carp. The rest of the cast do what they have to do adequatelyFinal Thoughts: See it for Hilary Duff. She is the sole reason as to why this movie is fairly enjoyable. It's cute and innocuous stuff that will put a smile on your face if you manage to groove to the plot. Worth a look5.5/10

Where do I begin? This movie won a People's Choice nomination in 2010 for BEST FAMILY MOVIE!?! Say what? I am the last person in the world to want movies that reflect some artificial moral code - but this is misleading to parents who do feel that way. Lane, our heroine, lies, cheats, betrays her friend, has sex with someone she hardly knows repeatedly - and is really turned on by make-up sex. Personally, I think that's cool - but just a very odd heroine for a family movie. That said, to me the movie itself played a lot like Sex and the City for the 20-something set. There is good girlfriend chemistry between the photographer, model, and Lane as they play cards with male torsos, etc., and joke about their guilty pleasures. As a movie, I found this sporadically amusing with a few of the photographer bits and one office bit very funny. I thought the friends did an excellent job doing their things. The film was well-paced, and there was some funny dialog. The acting in most of the supporting roles is fine - especially the affable Tom who must've had to work hard to say his lines with a straight face and still pull them all. Jaime Presley who plays Cosmo Editor Kate does likewise.Obviously, as others have pointed out, the plot contrivances themselves regarding how she gets the Cosmo Story Assignment and how she gets the investment banking job are ridiculous - but what else is new in most comedies. You suspend your disbelief to accept the premise. That's OK with me. So, Executive Producer Hilary Duff did a better-than-average job in putting together a Sex and the City for the 20-something set but not a family movie. Lead actress Duff is an abomination. Even given her character's moral wavering and hypocrisy, her dialog was still written well enough, she could've been a 20-something Carrie Bradshaw (narration, shoes, and all). Carrie has certainly had such lapses and we cheer when she looks in the mirror, learns, and leaps forward.Not here, unfortunately. Duff was engaging child actress but she if this is representative work, she is gosh-awful as an adult. Her comic timing is off; her dialog reads project more than the hammiest emoters I have ever seen on stage; and her expressions do not connect with the interaction of her fellow actors. Still, I was in a good mood and the plastic-wrap scene itself was funny enough so I gave it a 5. Ms. Duff should stick to producing and find another leading lady. Perhaps she can do a cameo.

Lane (Hilary Duff) is a freelance writer, interested in fashion and writing feature articles for magazines catering to younger adult women. If she could pitch a story to Cosmo, and get accepted, that would be heaven. Happily, her roommate is a rising fashion photographer and SHE gets Lane an interview with a top Cosmo exec (Jaime Pressley). At first, the talk goes badly and Lane almost gets dismissed. But, thinking quickly, the two ladies begin to hatch an idea that springs from just "girl talk". What if Lane, who is looking for a man to match her "check list", goes undercover at an investment firm? Men are plentiful there and Lane can see if any of these gentlemen fulfill her list and, then, capture his heart. So, it begins. Lane fibs her way into a great job, through a creative resume and interview. She will be working for investor Tom (Michael McMillan) as a personal assistant with business savvy. Although a few hitches occur on her first day, Lane makes it through, once with the help of another gorgeous businessman, Seth. But, celebrating at a bar later, she meets a handsome English musician, Liam (Chris Carmack) who hits all of the qualities of her list, except one minor item. Oh, no! To complete her article, she has to concentrate on romancing a white-collar gent! But, Liam is so hot, he's sure to be a distraction! What's a poor girl to do, with eligible men at every turn? This is a darling romcom, sure to please every eager fans, like me. It's fun, its romantic and its charming. Duff makes a great leading lady and she looks terrific while McMillan, Carmack, Pressley, and all of the others support her well. The costumes are, as one can imagine, dreamy while the setting in Manhattan is always appealing. Add on a lively, comic script and a smooth direction and what do you get? In brief, sheer heaven, fans!

I never though of Hillary Duff as an Oscar nominee, but I was surprised that she would have stooped so low as to accept this role. This is a movie that tries to be funny, light-hearted and cute, and fails miserably. While I wasn't expecting anything deep, and in fact only watched it because I knew it would be a fluff-piece, I was appalled by the shallowness, and bad writing, and the overall implausibility of the story. Will someone tell me how Duff's character was even hired to work in a serious office environment, not to mentioned manage not to get fired on her first day, as she was obviously out of her depth. And then don't get me started on the love story aspect of the film. She barely has time to develop feelings for her boss because she's distracted by two other guys, and then we're supposed to believe that she somehow falls for him in the last five minutes of the movie. I'm disappointed because the actors weren't that bad, but the writer didn't give them anything to work with.