By Melissa Antoinette Garza
THE PERFECT GUY (2015) was one of those movies that I had wanted to see when it came out, but just never got around to it. I’m a fan of LIFETIME movies and those that have similar plots but bigger budgets are all the better.
ENOUGH (2002), SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY (1991) and even the commonly trashed BOY NEXT DOOR (2015) are among the many movies about obsessive relationships and domestic abuse that are within my collection.
Most of my female friends love these type of movies and the majority of my male friends don’t. It has to be something within the female psyche of wanting to get back and every jerk of nut-job we’ve ever come into contact with. I don’t think there’s a woman alive who can say they have been pscyho-free their entire life, and if they have, they probably are not fans of this type of movie. I, on the other hand, can watch these movies all day.
It’s a familiar story. It starts with Leah (Sanaa Lathan) dating Dave (Morris Chestnut). They have a solid two year relationship, but Leah wants to be his wife and the mother of his children. Dave isn’t ready. He has seen too many divorces and doesn’t want to go down that road, yet.
Leah has enough and breaks it off with Dave. She then meets Carter (Michael Ealy) who seems too good to be true. He’s handsome, successful and promises her the world. She’s very attracted to him and they start a steamy love affair She sees a future with him and even brings him to meet her parents, Evelyn (L. Scott Caldwell) and Roger (Charles S. Dutton). Carter impresses Roger by getting great seats at a baseball game and is then welcomed into the family.
On the way back, they stop for gas. Carter thinks the attendant is hitting on Leah and beats him to a pulp. She dumps him and he starts doing everything he can to get her back. When it doesn’t work, he begins outright stalking her.
She begins seeing Dave again and things are moving along nicely, but Carter won’t disappear. She goes to the police and other than issuing a restraining order, their hands are pretty tied.
It is only at this point that the movie falls short. Leah has great female friends, but other than a few conversations doesn’t utilize them for emotional support. My best friend and I have had each other’s back for the last fifteen years. Now, we both are with great guys, but before my LoveLove and her Mr. Styles came along, we had the claws out for each other. We would throw down if necessary.
If they tried to interrupt our lives, we would ruin theirs. I really wish THE PERFECT GUY delved into that girl power element. It didn’t need to be successful, but at least try. Meghan would be over my house in a second if some douche was after her. We would be sitting together on my couch, with a bat, a gun and a few cans of mace ready to mess the m’fer up. I would have tabs on every move the scumbag made. I would have loved to see Leah with her gal pals torturing the hell out of this guy.
Few movies explore that part of female friendship. EXTREMITIES (1986) does, but only in the sense of Marjorie’s (Farrah Fawcett) friends trying to encourage her to let the rapist go.
I’m glad that Leah’s friends were on her side and that Leah, herself, wasn’t a damsel in distress, but rather a strong woman who faces off against the man herself. That said, the true power of women uniting could have been a major plot point.
Another support system not delved into was her parents. We only meet them once. I would’ve loved to see Roger take on Carter. Charles S. Dutton is one of those actors that can steal a scene. He can be the nice, Godly man one moment and a badass the next, all the while making both completely believable! I wanted to see the badass side! I wanted to see 65 year old Roger go ‘No Surrender’ on Carter.
Instead, the last 20 minutes is real muddied. She forms a friendship of sorts with the cop who gives her a few ideas on what to do. I think it wanted to be empowering the way ENOUGH was, but the difference is Jennifer Lopez went through an entire strength montage and appeared to be able to realistically kick the ass out of her character’s husband.
Leah, though mentally strong, isn’t a match for Carter physically.
The conclusion is predictable and it honestly ends abruptly. It seems that there should be an epilogue of sorts to explain the aftereffects. There are a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of unresolved issues that the films leaves the viewer with.
I’m not sure if it scenes were cut for time or if the writing just left it open, but whatever it was, there was an emptiness to it.
That said, the acting is outstanding. Lathan portrays a sympathetic and likable protagonist in Leah. There is definite chemistry with both leads and she is able to sell the dialogue, even when the words used aren’t as strong as they should be.
Both Chestnut and Ealy portray their parts really well. One can’t help but feel for Dave as he’s always trying to do the right thing. The core differences in the two male lead characters are clear and performed excellently by the actors.
Dave provides a realistic love with hesitation, but true feelings. Carter, at least at first, makes her feel safe and is willing to go anywhere or do anything to make her happy. Carter seems too good to be true and is.
One great difference in this movie than in others like it, is that Leah has a sense from the beginning something is wrong. She wants to keep things casual with Carter and does so until he seemingly proves himself by going to her parents’ house. She also is quick to end things when he acts insane. She doesn’t make excuses or fail to put an end to it.
Leah also doesn’t immediately jump back to Dave. The movie gives enough distance from the time when she ends things with Carter and begins to get stalked, to when she resumes a relationship with Dave.
It makes the movie more believable and the first half is extremely well-done. It’s only the easy, familiar choices at the end along with the unanswered issues that really hurt the overall movie.
THE PERFECT GUY isn’t the best film of its sub-genre, but it is far from the worst and is certainly worth the watch, despite its flaws.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10
