Beauty & the Briefcase

I cannot believe I've even wasted 45 minutes to watch what I hate. I don't mind predictable movies, but this is just ridiculously dumb.

Liam's "accent" is terrible..terrible...terrible...so hard to watch this movie because that character sucks.

Further, the Liam character is not cute and he looks the same in every movie he has been in!

Jamie Pressly was the highlight of the movie and Hilary Duff is quite annoying.

Another annoying thing was the way they portrayed the men in the movie as idiots falling all over her..yuck.

ABC Family should be ashamed of themselves for such a bad movie!

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!

This TV movie is a cross between Sex and the City, Legally Blonde and Bridget Jones Diary.

Hilary Duff gets hired by Cosmopolitan magazine to write an article about finding true love by finding the right man in the corporate workplace. Duff goes undercover at a finance company. However she is unqualified to be a PA, she has lied in her CV, acts like a 16 year old high school student and it's a wonder that she has not been fired on her first day.

Like Legally Blonde her charm sees her through but the film has a shallow and silly premise. There is a side plot where she is attracted to a British executive and her boss is uptight but has plans to save the company money by going green.

Its an unashamed and cynical chick flick aimed at younger females and even they would think its too far fetched.

"Lane Daniels" (Hillary Duff) is an aspiring young writer living in New York City who finds it hard to meet single, young men. As luck would have it her roommate "Joanne" (Amanda Walsh) just happens to know somebody at Cosmo Magazine who wants an article written about dating within the business world and so Lane decides to accept the job assignment and goes undercover working for a financial firm on Wall Street. One condition however is that she can only date men wearing suits who work in the business world. Little does she know that she is about to meet the man of her dreams and he doesn't meet this qualification. This creates a real dilemma for her. Now rather than reveal any more of this film and risk ruining it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that for a "made-for-television" romantic-comedy this particular movie wasn't too bad. Admittedly, while I would have preferred more comedy and less romance, the performance of Hillary Duff was sufficient to keep the movie somewhat enjoyable and because of that I rate it as about average.

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.