Perfect Man Soundtrack CD

Though it stars Hilary Duff, The Perfect Man's soundtrack is surprisingly low on teen pop (and Duff doesn't contribute any tracks to it). Instead, most of the album focuses on easygoing adult contemporary pop that has as much, if not more, appeal for Duff's character's mom -- as played by Heather Locklear -- as it does for the teen set. Beth Thornley's "If You Got What You Came For," a feisty, rock-edged pop song, and the propulsive rap of Grits' "Make Room" are the most youthful songs on the album. Though Kaci's "I Will Learn to Love Again" and Sara Overall's "Real Thing" lean toward teen pop, the sweet, sensitive vibe of both these songs makes them fit well with mom-friendly tracks like Howie Day's "Collide" and Kimberley Locke's "Better Than This." Toward the end of the album, The Perfect Man takes a surprising left turn by featuring four live tracks by Styx's Dennis DeYoung, including "Mr. Roboto," "Lady" (which quotes a passage from Ravel's Bolero), and "Best of Times." This choice probably makes more sense within the movie's context, but the DeYoung tracks are jarringly different from everything that came before them on the album. Still, for better or worse, quirky choices like these set The Perfect Man apart from run-of-the-mill romantic comedy soundtracks. ~ Heather Phares

In The Perfect Man, Holly (Hilary Duff) gets tired of moving every time her mom's (Heather Locklear) relationships melt down. Even worse, the relationships are consistently with second rate guys. Longing to stay in the same place and end her mom's losing streak, Holly conceives the perfect plan... she'll create an imaginary secret admirer to woo her mom. As the secret takes off and starts to build her mom's confidence, Holly has to produce an actual guy to match the secret. Enter Ben (Chris Noth), an uncle of Holly's friend. Over the course of the movie, Holly resorts to desperate measures to keep the ruse alive, almost costing her mom true happiness when the perfect guy really does come along. This soundtrack includes the artists Howie Day, Kimberly Locke, Dennis Deyoung and more. Curb. 2005.