See Jane Date Reviews

In one classic episode of Angel, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff she starred in for four years, Charisma Carpenter's bubbly, bitchy Cordelia Chase got to experience an alternate universe in which she was a beloved comic actress instead of a reluctant battler of evil. But in this made-for-cable chick flick -- her first post-Angel role -- Carpenter proves she's a more compelling performer when she gets to be salty as well as sweet. Adapted by Sheila R. Lawrence from a novel by Melissa Senate, See Jane Date hits all of the requisite Bridget Jones cues: lovably neurotic heroine, career aspirations, lots of lame-guy stereotyes, blah blah blah. Everything about this story is so secondhand that only truly inspired execution could make it shine. Alas, the quality-control at ABC Family Channel isn't nearly so exacting, so we're treated to such cliches as a montage of really bad dates, a high-school nemesis who turns out to have a heart of gold, and enough wedding angst to power a thousand bridezillas. Fellow WB vet Holly Marie Combs is appealing enough as the aforementioned enemy-turned-galpal, while Carpenter is as effervescent as ever. But, sapped of the snappy banter and quick temper that made her signature character such a comic delight, she seems like just another agreeably perky TV actress. Buffy and Angel fans looking for their Charisma fix should instead seek out her recurring role on the NBC series Miss Match, which restores the bite to Carpenter's breezy beauty.