She had me at: “There’s nothing wrong with Black nepotism.”
The thesis statement stamps the tone for The Perfect Find, an edgier than average choice for a Netflix-and-chill romcom, and there’s so much irony intended in Gabrielle Union being the one to deliver the line. She is Jenna, a Manhattan It-girl recovering from the demise of a decade-long relationship that unfolded in New York newsprint.
After a protracted self-imposed exile at her childhood home upstate, Jenna starts over in Brooklyn. To make rent, she walks into an Essence-like magazine to pitch herself as its next creative director. Doyenne-in-chief Darci (Gina Torres) holds a grudge against Jenna for the jobs and man she stole away, but agrees to take her on in the end. She’s barely settled into the great style closet that becomes her office when Darci introduces her son, Eric (up-and-comer Keith Powers), the beguiling videographer Jenna drunkenly met and made out with at a party the night before. That’s when Jenna endorses Black nepotism. The line is punctuated with a nervous chuckle, but the film could not be more serious about taking care of its own.
The Black celebrity cameos alone run from rap icon Remy Ma to Union’s own husband, the NBA legend Dwyane Wade. Another former NBA wife, La La Anthony, is one of Jenna’s homegirls. Reality TV star Ts Madison delights as the grand dame in mourning over Taraji P Henson, the pet peacock she chased to death. Janet Hubert, AKA the original Aunt Viv, also hams it up as Jenna’s concerned mother who nonetheless evicts her only child for crimping mom and dad’s sex life. Even director Numa Perrier appears on camera. And fans who have been rocking with her back when she blazed a fresh trail in the streaming world with indy channel Black&Sexy TV will surely thrill to the sight of Lina Green, a beloved star from that original company, as Darci’s twin assistant opposite real-life sister Erica Jaye, too.
The script of this 99-minute feature comes courtesy of TV writer Leigh Davenport and adapts the novel of the same name by Tia Williams – two more cameos in the film. Besides a bestselling author, Williams is Estée Lauder’s editorial director; hence why the fashion world touches here feel so textured, not least the Harlem Renaissance-inspired campaign Jenna dreams up in a bid to win subscribers. The story also explores themes a Lifetime movie would happily sacrifice for its main affair – Eric’s fatherless upbringing and its impact on his relationships with women, and a more age-appropriate suitor for Jenna who, like her, still hasn’t married or had kids despite their big ages.
But the thing that really makes this film so clever is its deft hand for unpacking all the heavy baggage and making light of it.
When Jenna invites the romantic rivals to a housewarming party, the age-appropriate guy turns out to be an even bigger boy-man played by Godfrey (the veteran standup and master mimic), yet another delightful cameo. His character nearly comes to blows with Eric’s wingman, but an emergency breaks out when the homey goes into anaphylactic shock – a nightmare reaction to the fish oil in Jenna’s food. The older boy-man declares victory anyway. “That’s what [you] would’ve looked like if I had fought you outside.”
Throughout, Perrier keeps the mood Black and sexy, toggling between Nat King Cole’s Je Vous Aime Beaucoup and Usher’s Good Kisser during the meet-cute and pushing in on the pillow talk (her trademark) while setting up these forbidden lovers for a harsh public reveal. Perrier also pastes in vintage scene work from Nina Mae McKinney and Greta Garbo to give this streaming romcom some old Hollywood heft.
The downside to juggling so many interesting ideas is that sometimes the main point gets dropped. The scenes between Union and Torres, whose Darci recalls Vanessa L Williams’s glossy boss in Ugly Betty, are almost too riveting – as if Darci was actually meant to be the antagonist. It doesn’t help the narrative that Eric never musters the courage to stand up to his mother and defend his relationship. In fact, most of his important decisions happen off-camera, including the final choice to stay or go – which, ultimately, doesn’t even feel like his to make. His arc, from self-determined love interest to shrinking boy-man, is a disappointment.
Otherwise, The Perfect Find is as much a tribute to Black love as it is a salute to the Roaring 20s – a fine romance to build a night in around. It meets the give-me-something-old-but-different Hollywood brief with style and wit, and takes care of anyone who might find family here. There’s nothing wrong with that, either.
The Perfect Find is available on Netflix on 23 June
