Opening like a cross between She’s All That, Mean Girls and (uh-oh) The Perfect Man, this rom-com sees a patently attractive high-school ‘nobody’, Kate (Brittany Snow), undergoing a cheerleader-style makeover to bag a man for a bet. Or, more accurately, revenge: the John Tucker of the title (Jesse Metcalfe) has been three-timing, and the girls in question send Kate in to break his heart.
There’s obvious fantasy appeal for girls (being forced to glam up, become popular and snog the fit gardener from Desperate Housewives has its appeal), but it’s all very unlikely and rarely funny, despite a few appealing leads. And the suggestion that a man spiked with oestrogen will start whining and asking if he looks fat can surely only alienate a female audience.