“Take that, Duff!”

We met up at the AMC Empire theatre in Times Square to see The Perfect Man. You may THINK that this is the new movie starring Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, and Chris Noth … but you’re only half right. It’s REALLY the new movie starring my cousin Mike. He is really all that matters, mkay? Just so we got that straight.

Siobhan, Nate and I gathered out front, and purchased tickets. We were very excited. It was funny to be going to see SUCH a major chick flick with Nate. Some of his comments during the film were just cracking me UP. Like … you think you can resist the pull of the chick flick, but at some point … you can’t help it … it starts working on you, and you get sucked into the vortex. For instance, once the movie ended, one of Nate’s first comments was how he didn’t like the tux worn by one of the characters in the last scene. HAHAHA It was such a girlie comment, and Nate is so not girlie. Very funny!!

To see Mike’s name on the screen … so cool!! We couldn’t wait for our first view of him.

So let me just say this, as a whole:

Mike has some of the most naturally funny moments in the entire film. People were HOWLING. He plays a guy who works in a bakery, who has one passion in life – one passion, and that is the band Styx. At the first mention of the band “Styx”, there was kind of a stunned silence in the movie theatre – and then this one random woman down front just GUFFAWED. And after that, every time he said the word “Styx”, you would hear her just start to LOSE IT.

He asks Heather Locklear out on a date. She says Yes. He mentions that he’s taking her to a “Styx” concert. Which … I mean. Come on. That’s funny in and of itself.

He comes to pick her up in the most ridiculous overblown vroom-vroom car imaginable, and as they walk out to the car, he starts to list off, like an autistic person, all its features. “Tranny loaded, dual engine, blah blah, it’s got an ejector seat, 10 power blah blah …” It was so SAD!! But he was proud of his car. Then, right as she goes to sit in the car, he says, with this kind of very sad vulnerable look on his face – vulnerable but tight-assed: “Uhm … could you take your shoes off, please? The mats are new …” Like: he knows he sounds crazy, but she MUST take her shoes off.

And the Styx concert has to be seen to be believed. Suffice it to say, that Mike’s character holds up a lighter, and starts to CRY. But … it’s REAL. That’s what’s so damn funny about it. We were DYING. Everyone was.

Mike completely endeared himself to the audience. Yes, the guy was kind of a loser … but he was funny, sweet, kind of bumbling, heartfelt … and he also has a ridiculously funny private moment when he does air-guitar with a loaf of bread when he thinks nobody is watching.

It was so fun to see him up there. He did a great job – and I loved hearing the rolling gales of laughter through the theatre every single time he even showed his face.

The title of this post comes from something Nate murmured, when something goes wrong for Hilary Duff’s character. Siobhan and I glanced over at Nate, and there he was, all sucked in to watching this chick flick – enough so that he would murmur, with a sense of vindication: “Take that, Duff!”

For me, the movie is all about Mike. He’s in the entire film – it’s not just a cameo – so every time he would re-appear, you could hear people immediately start to laugh.

GREAT JOB, MIKE!!