Sick Product of a Sick System

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

After a painful breakup, successful lobbyist Leah Vaughn (Sanaa Lathan) jumps into a passionate relationship with a charming stranger (Michael Ealy). When her ex-boyfriend (Morris Chestnut) resurfaces in her life she has to figure out who she should trust and who she should fear. Well one thing is for sure this film will bore you to death and the "charming stranger" Michael Ealy really bugged me this is the kind of plot and story that has become so typical and dumb that is getting out of hand with every single one of their films being the exact same thing over and over again and this guy Morris Chestnut needs to stop starring in these kind of movies seriously.

I give this film higher grades than many. Michael Ealy is sufficiently creepy here -- and intelligent -- to be more of a menace than many stalker movie types. And they add to his creepiness with a weird haircut (in the back) and a very gaunt look.The director resisted the temptation to kill the cat...which I was hoping he would resist; it's so stereotypical. So congrats to a director who made this film creepy but not cliché.Sanaa Lathan, as the stalker's victim, is very good here, as is the real good guy of the film -- Morris Chestnut; although Chestnut fans (like me) might be a bit disappointed as he is missing in long sections of the film (although that works in terms of the story line) and...well, let's just say I'm surprised Chestnut took this role.I know it's popular to say that all stalker movies are the same, but that's not really true, anymore than that's true for any other genre of film. This is better than most in that genre. Good enough that I'll have a difficult time seeing Ealy as a "good guy" in the future. Very good performance, but perhaps not the best career decision.

While the actors are great, the script is so bad it turns them into B- grade actors. I feel bad for them since I know they can act well. This is like the time Natalie Portman did Star Wars. Shes a great actor but the script was so bad her acting turned wooden. If they made the lines less lame and predictable, this may be just barely watchable.I cringed a lot. But I watched the whole thing hoping it would get better. It doesn't. It's like watching a bad teen novel-turned-movie.I'm embarrassed for this movie.

"The Perfect Guy" starts off with an intriguing premise, and the first thirty minutes of the film sizzle with a romantic relationship between Leah (Sanaa Lathan) and Carter (Michael Ealy). But the film then takes a U-turn to a dismal and predictable story of a deranged stalker and subsequent revenge taken by the victim.Lathan and Ealy are both good in the parts. The chemistry was excellent, and there was a wonderful scene where she introduced her "perfect guy" to her parents. But after that heartwarming trip, a pit stop at a gas station changes everything when Carter nearly kills a harmless bystander in a frenzy of jealous violence.The gas station attendant calls the police, who never arrive to press charges against Carter. An ongoing problem with the film was the complete incompetence of the slow-acting police in response to the clear endangerment of the life of Leah.SPOILER ALERT: By the final third of the film, it was clear that Leah had to play the role of vigilante, much like Charles Bronson in his "Death Wish" films. Incredibly, the advice that Leah received for how to kill her persecutor was given by the inept police detective. Apparently, it is not police protocol to give such advice at the station, but it is acceptable if given in a coffee shop! Overall, "The Perfect Guy" was well-photographed and included a good cast. But there could have been more creative choices to breathe life into a tired formula.