This story had the potential to be one of the better Hallmark movies out there, but the questionable script and acting stopped Perfect on Paper from reaching it.
I've never seen the lead actress in anything else, and have zero desire to. Her overexaggerated facial expressions were quite distracting. Hartley plays Natalie Holland, a book editor recruited from Oregon to Los Angeles to take on a new client Beverly Wilcox (Fairchild), a primadonna with a huge attitude. Drew Fuller, someone I have only seen in one of my favorite shows growing up, plays Coop, a seemingly laid back happy-go-lucky guy who just breezes through life with minimal effort or responsibility. Fuller made Coop a character we could root for, a bright spot in a sea of terrible supporting cast. The one standout was Eli, the kid whom Coop mentors. He is the reason I rated this movie as high as I did.
Natalie came off as a gold-digging snob who thinks that everyone is beneath her, mostly because of her equally unlikable friend Avery...who took every opportunity to tell Natalie she needed to find someone with ambition and goals and who had great qualities on paper, not a surfing janitor/maintenance man. Towards the end of the movie, when it was discovered that Cooper wasn't what he originally seemed and she did a 180, it didn't help her case. Perhaps a better actress could have pulled that off, but Hartley was unable to. I don't suggest not watching it, but just make it a low priority on the DVR. Fuller, Fairchild, and Eli make this movie worth watching.
I've never seen the lead actress in anything else, and have zero desire to. Her overexaggerated facial expressions were quite distracting. Hartley plays Natalie Holland, a book editor recruited from Oregon to Los Angeles to take on a new client Beverly Wilcox (Fairchild), a primadonna with a huge attitude. Drew Fuller, someone I have only seen in one of my favorite shows growing up, plays Coop, a seemingly laid back happy-go-lucky guy who just breezes through life with minimal effort or responsibility. Fuller made Coop a character we could root for, a bright spot in a sea of terrible supporting cast. The one standout was Eli, the kid whom Coop mentors. He is the reason I rated this movie as high as I did.
Natalie came off as a gold-digging snob who thinks that everyone is beneath her, mostly because of her equally unlikable friend Avery...who took every opportunity to tell Natalie she needed to find someone with ambition and goals and who had great qualities on paper, not a surfing janitor/maintenance man. Towards the end of the movie, when it was discovered that Cooper wasn't what he originally seemed and she did a 180, it didn't help her case. Perhaps a better actress could have pulled that off, but Hartley was unable to. I don't suggest not watching it, but just make it a low priority on the DVR. Fuller, Fairchild, and Eli make this movie worth watching.