The Perfect Guy
Starring: Michael Ealy, Sanaa Lathan, Morris Chestnut
Director: David M. Rosenthal
Not for nothing have Sanaa Lathan, Michael Ealy, and
Morris Chestnut enjoyed consistently prominent careers
on all screens for the last couple of decades. Equally
capable as they are naturally charismatic, those qualities
are just as matched by their commitment to their
characters in whatever the context. That professionalism
is what strikes most strongly in THE PERFECT GUY, a
programmatic thriller that generates its only modicum of
suspense and tension through one ongoing question:
what will end up being the most generic: the nondescript
title, the predictably rote storyline, or the overall
pedestrian execution? Lathan is successful lobbyist
Leah, who, months after a bitter breakup with her
longtime yet oddly noncommittal love Dave (Chestnut),
rebounds with what appears to be the title type in Carter (Ealy), an IT expert who quickly wins over
the heart of Leah and her parents alike with his charm and devotion. But just as quickly, Leah
breaks it off with Carter once he suddenly, randomly erupts into brutal violence in the name of
protecting her--after which his loyalty and "love" mutates into possessive, dangerous obsession.
With such a tired premise, the lead trio gives what they can. If Chestnut has little room to stretch in
his fairly limited screen time and role, Ealy clearly enjoys turning his usual screen persona on its ear
and using those trademark eyes to a more sinister effect. Lathan plays more to type as a smart,
vulnerable, yet strong-willed heroine, but the relatable shadings she lends every part can only go so
far with David A. Rosenthal's textbook, eady-jump-scare direction, and a screenplay (by Tyger
Williams, a long way from MENACE II SOCIETY) that is just as strictly by the numbers. No question
that last expression, " by the numbers," can apply in a more literal sense, as the psycho lover plot
hook is as durably mass audience-appealing and box office-friendly as any for a thriller. But as the
endless assembly line of woman-in-peril movies incessantly airing on the Lifetime cable networks
prove, being commercial doesn't exactly equate to being clever--and given the talent involved,
THE PERFECT GUY is an especially disappointing illustration of that. Grade: C
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