The May-December Romance plot gets a melanin spin in Netflix's, The Perfect Find from director Numa Perrier. Leigh Davenport pens the screenplay, an adaptation of Tia Williams's same-titled novel. After a messy public breakup and a high-profile firing, Jenna (Gabrielle Union) returns to New York to resurrect her fashion career.
Knowing she'll only get one chance to rebuild her reputation, Jenna swallows her pride and goes to work for the cutthroat mogul and frenemy Darcy (Gina Torres). But her comeback attempt gets complicated when she falls for her charming, much younger coworker Eric (Keith Powers), who happens to be Darcy's son. After putting everything on the line for her career, Jenna must decide if she'll risk it all on a secret romance and find out if she can have a future with Eric despite their generational divide.
I've always had a soft spot for romantic comedies in literate and film. We all know the genre's tropes, from the meet-cute to opposites attracting and the fake relationship. The trick is finding a way to make still the cliches enjoyable. The Perfect Find starts innocently with a photographic montage of Jenna on top of the world and in a relationship with her Prince Charming (DB Woodside).
When we meet Jenna, she's down and out, living with her parents. One of the first things I noticed in the scene was Fresh Prince's Aunt Viv#1 (Janet Hubert) portraying Jenna's mom. It was great to see Hubert on screen, if only briefly, and she had believable chemistry with Union. Kudos to the writers for getting Union back to NY as well.
In our lead role, Gabrielle Union eludes the black girl magic we've come to know her for. In this film, she displays comedy chops, has dramatic moments, and looks fabulous. I also have to shout out Gina Torres, who somewhat goes against type as Darcy's boss. Torres has a genuinely sharp liner in her scenes with Union, and it's clear that she's having a blast. As Jenna's besties, Aisha Hinds and La La Anthony have small but smile-worthy moments.
As for our romantic lead, Keith Powers has been grinding for a while. He first impressed me with his portrayal of Ronnie DeVoe in The New Edition Story, and that swag carries over to the film. The script paints his character of Eric as an old soul who loves film. His passion is one of the things that brings him together with Jenna as opposed to a lustful situation. Seeing the two characters discuss the film and work together on projects reminded me of two friends.
There were a few times I expected the film to go a certain way that some romantic comedies do, but this one avoids that and paints a believable story of two people falling in love. Although their relationship is complex due to their familial and professional connections and age differences, they can connect through shared interests, friendship, and affection. Despite occasional disagreements, their bond remains beautiful and steady.
Guided by honest performances from its two leads and a fire soundtrack, The Perfect Find is worth adding to your Netflix watch list.
Final Grade B
The Perfect Find is available to stream at www.netflix.com/ThePerfectFind on 6/23/23.
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