“Perfect Guy” Laid Low by Predictable Script

I suppose it’s a bit lazy to say that there’s nothing
original where the plot of a movie or novel is concerned.  I’ve heard it said that there are only seven
basic stories that can be told and they’ve obviously been done to death. So,
the trick is to bring a bit of enthusiasm and sincerity to whatever tale you’re
trying to tell, which goes a long way towards making things seem fresh when
they’re not. Of course, with today’s movies, copious special effects certainly
help distract viewers from the fact that they’re watching the same old, same
old.

So to say that The Perfect Guy is a rote exercise is no
big surprise; many movies today are.  But
what makes this effort subpar is the way it so closely resembles other movies
that have covered the same narrative territory, albeit with much more style and
energy than is on display here.  Director
David Rosenthal and writer Tyger Williams make no effort to put a distinctive
stamp on this standard stalker-thriller, content to follow lockstep in the path
blazed by Cape Fear, Play Misty for Me, and Fatal Attraction among
others.  Mind you, while these films
primarily tell the same story, they were executed with flair and intelligence, qualities
that are sorely lacking here.

Sanaa Lathan is Leah, an assured, intelligent, up-and-coming
business woman who has just broken up with her long-time boyfriend Dave (Morris
Chestnut) because he isn’t ready to take that big leap and walk down the aisle
with her.  She has the misfortune of
rebounding into the arms of Carter (Michael Ealy), a security specialist who’s
too good to be true.  He’s good looking,
courteous, thoughtful and nurturing.  He
also happens to have a hair-trigger temper, has a bi-polar disorder and is
very, very jealous.

Of course, Leah discovers this all a bit too late, having
let Carter into her life to the point that he knows all of her weak points and
then goes on to exploit them once she’s cut him loose.   All of
this happens very quickly as Rosenthal is intent on getting to the meat of the
story as quickly as possible, meaning there’s very little time spent on
character development, while logic is thrown to the wayside, just so much collateral
damage en route to the film’s standard action scenes. 

The one good thing on display here is the cast, composed of
veterans who surely knew they were fighting a losing battle, yet soldiered on
to bring some life to the stereotypes they’ve been saddled with.  Lathan is always good and her transformation
from victim to hunter is thoroughly convincing. 
And while Ealy has a thankless part, he brings more than a bit of
creepiness to it, making Carter a genuine threat.  However, the creaky plot, as well as the spastic
editing by Joan Sobel, who makes simple conversations hard to follow with her
rapid cutting, makes this Guy seem like a movie we’ve met before and never
want to encounter again. 

This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2015.