Lindsay Hartley and Drew Fuller in Perfect on Paper
The Hallmark Channel has recently released a new romantic comedy movie Perfect on Paper starring Lindsay Hartley, Morgan Fairchild, and Drew Fuller. It follows the life of book editor Natalie Holland who moves to Los Angeles to help snobby author Beverly Wilcox edit her upcoming romantic novel.
When Natalie moves to Los Angeles, she settles down at an apartment at the Green Grove and meets Coop, who instantly takes a liking to her. Although their first acquaintance is not the best when Natalie spills her coffee on him and ends up falling on top of him, the two end up striking a great friendship. Throughout the movie, Coop finds excuses just to see Natalie and everyone is pretty much aware that he really likes her.
Meanwhile, Natalie discovers that she will be working for Beverly Wilcox, whose books she despises and has never read. Beverly presents her with a pink, glittery phone and tells her to be on call 24/7, describing this as her “creative process.” Unfortunately for Natalie, Beverly Wilcox does not like her edits and gets angry when Alfonso is taken out of the story, threatening to leave Goldstein Publishing if the manuscript is not restored to its original state.
At a dinner party, Natalie meets a lawyer from Los Angeles who drives a sporty car, has just become a partner, full of big plans for the future; basically what Avery had hoped for Natalie – “a man perfect on paper.” Luckily for Bob, Natalie tells her dating criteria to Coop who gets angry and refuses to speak with her. Bob has gotten the perfect opportunity to jump in for Coop, taking the hostility between Natalie and him to his advantage.
Coop does appear unfriendly to Natalie at times and constantly makes remarks about how foolish it is to simply base a person off of their life resume, since paper doesn’t tell the whole story. Who can blame him though for appearing rude at times? Nobody likes to be told that they are not dating material just because they don’t have a fancy job, lots of money, and real estate. Drew Fuller, who played Coop in the movie, did a great job in playing his character and showing jealousy towards Bob, while holding himself on top.
What really makes this movie remarkable is Eli, a teen boy who is part of the L.A. Mentor Program where Coop volunteers at and a matchmaker for Natalie and Coop. When he notices that Coop isn’t around, he tells Natalie about him starting the community garden and how big of a heart he has. As soon as he notices that Coop has feelings for Natalie, he begins to coax both of them on how remarkable the other one is. Actor Bryce Clyde Jenkins did a suburb job playing Eli and it wasn’t difficult to take a liking to him in his first scene.
The movie turns into a comedy and bring you laughs mainly resulting from Beverly’s snotty remarks towards Natalie. She makes fun of her clothing choices, and refers to her outfits as ones that appear as if “she’s going fishing.” Upon seeing Natalie talking to Coop, she questions her why Natalie is taking “gardening tips with the help.” Morgan Fairchild’s acting is seriously perfect on paper (and her acting resume) as she makes the movie more entertaining with her hilarious remarks. In my opinion, Beverly did an exceptional job at acting and really brought that spark to the movie with her quirky attitude.
Much of the storyline has been plotted by Natalie’s friend, Avery who tricks her into coming to L.A. without telling her the author she will be working for. Although a talented and bestseller author, Beverly Wilcox is a pain to work with and it was rumored that her last editor ended up quitting publishing after working with her. Avery’s hobbies in the movie include opening dating sites for her friends, bringing cacti, and volunteering as a stylist. She is constantly worried about Natalie and makes fun of her dating choices, instructing her to go for someone who looks “perfect on paper.”
In a way, much of the blame can be put on Avery for instructing Natalie to look for someone who is “good on paper,” such as Bob who works as a lawyer and has big plans for the future. Perhaps Goldstein Publishing might never have temporarily shut down if Natalie followed her heart and went for Coop, instead of Bob. Avery is a kind of girl who likes to meddle in other people’s business, and is constantly worried about everything and everyone. On the up side, this is a benefit as Natalie might have never come out to L.A. and not met the perfect guy for her, surfing janitor Coop.
As all Hallmark movies have a romantic storyline with an ending that teaches us something based on “love conquering all,” the ending of Perfect on Paper was quite obvious since the beginning. The trailer pretty much hinted what would happen at the end and probably everyone knew that Natalie would choose her perfect man. The movie has an incredible lesson in the fight between the guy who is “perfect on paper” and one that does not have the perfect resume. It was great to watch and follow along Natalie’s life, filled with drama from Avery and Beverly, and romance and maybe even some lies from her romantic interests.
Although Bob Lewis is a bit sneaky in “Perfect on Paper,” praise is given to Kieren Hutchinson for playing the role so well that he actually had us fooled.
Much of the praise for the acting should be given to Lindsay Hartley for doing an excellent job in playing Natalie Holland. She was down to earth and gave a great performance for the cameras with her bubbly personality that made it easier to follow along with the movie. With her background as a soap opera actress, Lindsay is definitely a natural in these romantic films, and is an absolute pleasure to watch.
Towards the end, I was actually expecting that when Beverly Wilcox a.k.a. Maggie told Natalie about her book on Alfonso, that this would inspire Natalie to write her own book. I was hoping Natalie would write a bestselling romance novel about the experience of finding a guy and return Goldstein Publishing to its original state. While this may not have happened, it was great to see that three months later, Margaret Bunn (Beverly Wilcox) ended up with a big publishing accomplishment herself.
With all the twists, love, and lies throughout Perfect on Paper, Natalie gets her happy ending and we are sure this will definitely bring tears to your eyes! “Perfect on Paper” will continue to air on the Hallmark Channel. Please check your local listings for the exact day and time.
To learn more about Lindsay Hartley and her role as Natalie Holland in the movie, read our interview with her here: Lindsay Hartley Interview Exclusive: Perfect on Paper!
What is your opinion of the movie Perfect on Paper?
Tweet us @feelingthevibe!
