Beauty and the Briefcase wasn’t nearly as awful as I expected (admittedly I did laugh a couple of times) it to be yet when one’s expectations are already on the floor, there’s nowhere to go but up. While the set-up might be different, it’s still your standard romantic-comedy formula right up to the predictable and, in this case, gag-inducing ending.
Beauty and the Briefcase (2010)
Genre(s): Comedy, Romance
Image | NR – 86 min. – $29.97 | February 8, 2011
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Gil Junger
Writer(s): Daniella Brodsky (novel); Michael Horowitz (screenplay)
Cast: Hilary Duff, Chris Carmack, Michael McMillian, Amanda Walsh, Matt Dallas, Jaime Pressly
DISC INFO:
Features: Trailer
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Codec: AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE – 2.25/5
Lane (HILARY DUFF) lives and breathes Cosmo Magazine and apparently anything is says – which, from what I’ve heard, is a bunch of non-sense, but I digress – and thanks to her best friend/roommate/photographer Joanne (AMANDA WALSH), she gets an opportunity to pitch a story to Cosmo editor Kate White (JAIME PRESSLY). The pitch doesn’t go over too well but on their way out the two begin discussing about men, or the lack thereof, in which Lane comes up with the idea of an undercover piece: she would get a job in the business world, date as many men there and see how many of their traits she can check off her list (yeah, she has 10 criteria for the “magic man”, but I don’t feel like getting in to now… or ever).
Lane manages to talk her way to a finance company with the help by electrical property damage. When she arrives her dreams have come true as there is every type of man working at this firm and most are single so they’re hers for the pickings. It all starts off well enough catching the eye of co-worker Seth (MATT DALLAS) and I guess passively her boss, Tom (MICHAEL MCMILLIAN). However, another chap comes into her life. While at a bar Lane accidentally spills her drink on Liam (CHRIS CARMACK), a Brit who just on their first meeting checks off many items off her list. The two instantly hit it off but the snag is Cosmo does not like that angle to the story and is ordered to break it off with Liam. What’s a girl to do? Why should I care?
Ok, in full disclosure, the ABC Family “Original Movie” Beauty and the Briefcase is not as bad as I had feared. It is, however, just as formulaic as any flighty romantic comedy you’ve ever seen with a tinge of the obnoxiousness that is the tabloid magazines designed for women.
For her part, Hilary Duff, who also served as executive producer, is cute and wears some nice tight outfits (a definite plus), sails her way through nicely enough I guess, though it’s hardly anything memorable; in fact, a day later I have to rack my brain just to remember what the character is all about aside for her obsession with “Cosmopolitan Magazine” (she has a shrine dedicated to it after all). While I didn’t like her last role in According to Greta – the part she played was annoying to the extreme – I at least respect that she at least tried something different than her Disney persona, with Beauty it’s more of the Duff I’m used to seeing which is good and bad in that she seems to be more at home playing the more bubbly characters but bad since it’s an unchallenging role she should sleepwalk through.
You also have a waste in talent (not to mention mis-casting) with the supporting cast. First, there are two quick cameos from Jennifer Coolidge from the American Pie movies and Legally Blonde (a brief and unfunny scene to show how Lane desperately needs a guy) and Jaime Pressly as the editor. She too only has a few minutes of screen time and doesn’t have a whole lot to contribute.
** SPOILERS **
The others who have far more things to do include: Matt Dallas as a co-worker Lane becomes interested in, Amanda Walsh as the stereotypical supportive best friend and Chris Carmack as Lane’s boss and potential love interest. While I admire these actors for doing the best they can with the material they have, they don’t really have the screen presence to tie it all together. I’m going into spoiler territory here, but it’s kind of obvious based on the Blu-ray cover, that Duff and Carmack get together yet it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense or, even for a rom-com, is unbelievable that the two would fall in love that quickly without ever being on a date. I’m all for love at first site, but the whole girl getting swept off her feet in the end was utterly laughable and not in a good way.
** END SPOILERS **
Directed by Gil Junger (“Ellen”, “10 Things I Hate About You” amongst other TV shows) and based on the novel ‘Diary of a Working Girl’, Beauty and the Briefcase may not have been as awful as I had expected, and in fact I did manage to chuckle a few times thus the kind rating, but it certainly is not a very good movie even by (often low) romantic comedy standards. Hilary Duff mostly comes away clean (and bubbly) not taking many chances yet outside of her core fanbase, I can’t recommend this movie.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5
Nothing here except the trailer (1:07; SD).
VIDEO – 4/5
Beauty and the Briefcase comes to Blu-ray on a 25GB disc and in its original 1.78 aspect ratio presentation. The picture seems to be on par from what I would expect a broadcast on an HD channel (in this case, ABC Family HD) with some good detail levels throughout, no discernable flaws like dust, scratches or pixilation and bright/cheerful colors worn primarily by Duff. This isn’t a “wow” kind of video but certainly decent for a TV movie release.
AUDIO – 3.75/5
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track similarly tends to impress from its verbose opening in which I had to adjust the volume down to the clichéd rom-com score that shows up every couple of minutes whenever Duff does something cute/awkward/bad or all of the above in one scene. Dialogue levels are also clear and easy to understand.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, Beauty and the Briefcase wasn’t nearly as awful as I expected (admittedly I did laugh a couple of times) it to be yet when one’s expectations are already on the floor, there’s nowhere to go but up. While the set-up might be different, it’s still your standard romantic-comedy formula right up to the predictable and, in this case, gag-inducing ending. I thought Duff mostly comes away clean though there’s not a whole lot of substance to her character and the whole moral to the story that one character neatly explains towards the end was, simply, dumb. Meanwhile, the Blu-ray scores good marks for the video and audio but other than a trailer, there’s no features.
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 01/31/2011