• Unreleased
• Director: Douglas Barr
• Written by: Allison Burnett
• Running Time: 90 minutes
• Language: English
• MPAA Rating: UNRATED
• Cast: Kathleen Quinlan, Lori Heuring, Henry Ian Cusick, Michael Trucco, JR Bourne, Nico McEown, Wanda Cannon, Ona Grauer, Adam Harrington, Agam Darshi, Brandon Jay McLaren, Gina Holden, Jen Halley, Bruce Dawson, Angela Moore, Don Thompson, Charles Baird, Dustin Milligan, Daniel Ayers, Greyston Holt, Lisa Skinner, Ross Viner, Todd Whalen

"Perfect Romance” features characters searching for love; characters that believe they’ve found love, characters that are in love but can’t get the object of their affection to notice them, and characters that think they are in love but wish they weren’t. Long story short, “Perfect Romance” features characters that experience the same emotions, desires and regrets we all do, and, for that very reason, it can’t help but nag at your heartstrings, well, in a romantic sense. Appearing on television, I caught this due to some very good word of mouth, something rare of made for tv fare. I hate to say it but I genuinely enjoyed this movie, enough to write a review for it.

Fed up with her daughter Jenny’s moping, the casualty of a one-sided love affair, Tess Kelley (Kathleen Quinlan) decides to secretly place an ad for her daughter on an Internet dating site, PerfectMatch.com. It isn’t long before she’s being contacted by another lost and lonely soul, Peter Campbell (Henry Ian Cusick), whose search of ‘Fervent Hope’ turns up her name. Having just arrived from England, Peter has put aside everything for a relationship with a woman in Upstate New York, who, as it turns out, isn’t much interested in him anymore, leaving him out in the cold so to speak. Alone in this new country, Peter, teaching literature on a Sabbatical, finds comfort perusing the Internet dating sites looking for a match less flaky. Though, it’s not until he stumbles upon Jenny’s profile that he is intrigued enough to send out a reply. The two begin a ‘private message’ relationship and quickly discover that they have a lot in common, and that they quite enjoy each other’s letters. After a quickie montage -- played out much like a condensed version of "You've Got Mail" -- the audience soon realizes that they've been duped, as Jenny's mom, not Jenny, was behind the e-mails. As it turns out, Jenny has no idea about the ad, her mother’s meddling, or the date she has lined up for one sunny afternoon with some guy named Peter.

Jenny (Lori Heuring), a tomboy-ish pottery designer and the mother of a young boy, has been working through some things in her life, namely a manipulative slacker ex-hubby Rick Meadows, JR Bourne (2005’s “Exorcism of Emily Rose”) who she can’t seem to stop loving, despite how bad he is for her. The delinquent dad from Hell, Rick, a part-time musician/full-time loser, seems to be a permanent fixture in Jenny and her son’s life, but only on the periphery. He tends to only show his greasy self whenever he’s needing that guaranteed ego boost from the still-smitten Jenny, or when he’s showing off his latest CD. The arranged date between Peter and Jenny is fraught with problems, and it doesn’t take an Einstein to see why. See, Jenny’s not only emotionally pre-occupied with another man, she’s also less cultured than her mother, the woman, of course, that Peter confided in and grew to adore, over the internet. When Jenny invites Peter over for pancakes, and burns them, the film’s path is clearly laid out for us. When she shows him a painting, and he sees dots, you know there’s nothing there.

Despite some mutual physical attraction, the chemistry simply doesn’t exist, something both Peter and Jenny and the audience easily acknowledge. Not surprisingly, Peter finds himself drifting towards Tess, sharing delightful conversation, subtle longing glances and coinciding moonlight walks. Tess, still reeling herself from being left by her ‘out of the closet’ husband, is an awkward place, in that she feels herself too old for Peter, the man she set up to be her daughter’s paramour. Also in a thorny place is Peter, who still sees himself as dating Jenny. Hanging around in the background is another character, Miles Healey, Michael Trucco (2002’s “Wishmaster 4: The Prophecy Fulfilled”), a long time friend of the family and surrogate dad to Jenny’s child, Jesse, Nico McEown (2006's "Night At The Museum"). Miles, nicknamed Boogie, has had a crush on Jenny for years. Problem is, no matter what he does for Jenny or her family, he can’t seem to get her to set her romantic sights in his direction. It’s his love and adoration of Jenny that allows the film to settle into its wispy, sweet groove. Watching the two parallel love stories unravel is a real treat, and I’m hard-pressed to figure out which one was sweeter.

Most good love-stories are formulaic and “Perfect Romance” is no different. Right away it’s obvious to anyone paying attention who should be with who, but, alas, the joy comes from watching the various characters figure it out. Written by Allison Burnett, a man who’s writing credits include such diverging titles as “Feast of Love” and “Bloodfist 3: Forced to Fight”, offers a screenplay that is both funny and intelligent. May/December romances are not a topic unfamiliar to Burnett. He explored it four years before in the Richard Gere/Winona Ryder movie “Autumn in New York” but unlike that film, which I felt was slightly overcooked; Burnett gets it right with “Perfect Romance”. His treatment of the subject feels honest and sweet.

As Tess, Kathleen Quinlan (1983’s “Twilight Zone: The Movie”), absolutely steals the show, playing a warm, slightly meddlesome character that is supposed to be seasoned in age but moves with the grace and dignity that is ageless. It is her relationship with Peter, and the way it develops, that feels the most sincere and vibrant. Henry Ian Cusick (2006’s “Half Light”) does the Hugh Grant shtick, only more watered down. He’s both sweet and clumsy, but in just the right amounts. It is Tess and Peter’s burgeoning love, expressed in brief and sweet moments; namely Tess smelling Peter’s shirt for his scent, and Peter having his breath taken away at the sight of Tess, made up for an evening of bar-hopping. These are the seconds that stayed with me. Lori Heuring (2004’s “Mummy an' the Armadillo”), playing the tomboy-ish, hard-rock loving Jenny, is very good offering depth and tenderness to a character that spends much of the film being slightly deceptive. Around Peter, she is awkward and insecure, while around Miles she’s charming and playful. It’s easy to see whom she’s meant for – even if the Miles love-angle feels slightly rushed.

Overall, this the type of movie you should watch with someone you love. The comedy works, the performances are lively and the romance is, well, romantic. How could I not recommend this? Regarding its availability on VHS or DVD, there's not and according to Allison Burnett on the imdb.com, there are no plans to release this film on DVD anytime soon so please try to catch it when it comes on television.