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.

The lead actress, Lindsay Hartley, seems way too old to be an entry level editor. And the makeup department absolutely covers her face in heavy makeup. I think she should stick with Lifetime movies. The one bright spot is the acting of Army Wives' Drew Fuller. His easygoing charm seems effortless. Another star for Morgan Fairchild. Timeless.

This one could have been so much better. It had some potential. Comic potential (the party scene where our heroine was starving and kept trying to get to some food); some potential for the always entertaining ugly duckling into a swan; a great old star (Morgan Fairchild) playing the powerful nemesis that is eventually won over; a very attractive and likable lead actor who played a likable character; and an interesting plot line clashing a romance author with our heroine, an editor trying to make her clients book better, but risking her popularity. There was a cute poor kid and a romantic rival for cutie who was a wolf in sheep's clothing. There was a nice appealing secondary couple as well. All of the usual elements of a hallmance when mixed with some good acting and a well cast troupe can add up to perfectly enjoyable 2 hours worthy of a rewatch in a year or two. Unfortunately, Lindsey Hartley was woefully miscast. She was too old, had the dark looks of a villainess, little comedy chops, and had her make-up applied like it was spackle. They needed a younger actress who could pass for a naïve and nerdy, but smart goofball a little out of her element in the big city. This casting blunder was made even more obvious because her supposed sophisticated and happily married boss was played by an actress 10 years younger. Had they switched roles, it would have gone a long way to making this twice as good. It's a shame, because everything else about the movie was on point.