whitneydaniell

directed by: Numa Perrier
written by: Tia Williams & Leigh Davenport
starring: Gabrielle Union, Keith Powers, Gina Torres
IMDB Link

This is a review of the film adaptation.
To read my review of the book, go to The Perfect Find.

The film adaptation did the book no justice. If I hated the book, I despise this film! Let me try to break it down without being too judgmental.

The Cast:
– Gabrielle Union (Jenna) — In my opinion, this was cast perfectly because, I felt for the character Jenna just as I feel for the actress, Union, I dislike them both.
– Keith Powers (Eric) — Sure, he gives handsome, he is handsome but, I really didn’t see the chemistry between these two.
– Gina Torres (Darcy) — The sole redeeming quality of this movie. SHE KILLS IT.
– Aisha Hinds & La La Anthony (Billie & Elodie) — I mean, s u r e.
** Honorable Mentions** Godfrey, Janet Hubert, and TS Madison

The Story:
I get it, you can’t fit everything into a film that is written in a book. There have to be some liberties taken for the sake of time. Jenna and Eric spent so much time together, in the book, which I felt was great for the character development and understanding the dynamic of their relationship but, in the film, it’s all kind of skipped over.

Jenna jumping back into work at Darzine was also a miss for me. In the book, Jenna was wearing Wal-Mart clothes and mixing them with her high fashion and making it look good, in the film, she’s all high fashion. I could go on and on about this but, let’s just leave it at; I didn’t like it in the film — I liked her work with Darzine better written in the book.

When Jenna meets Madison the ballerina… it solidifies everything that I was ever feeling about Jenna Jones. She is insecure, childish, immature, and too old to be acting like that over that young man. Eric was far more emotionally mature than Jenna and he handled her and that situation very well. Age gap be damned because with age, does not come wisdom.

Jenna and Eric’s relationship, still hate it. Jenna was an established woman, in her own right (outside of Brian), she is attractive and desired however, she settles her heart on Eric. That’s not to say that she settled for Eric but, my point is, she settled for this idea that he was the best she could get — when that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Both Jenna and Eric should have been out here dating other people, their age and people in places in life where they want to be. Eric didn’t want kids, date a woman your age who is also chasing their career and who does not want to be tied down to children (right now). Jenna, date established men who can afford to support you and the family you ultimately want. Jenna needed to get herself together before jumping underneath another man.

And I read about 40-plus-year-old professional, single, black women being bitter and mean, but I always thought it was a stereotype.

No. Those are Tyler Perry moveis.

You’d fit in perfectly.

Eric & Jenna

The baby. THE BABY. If you’ve read my review of the book then you know how I felt about her having a baby and not telling Eric until they stumble upon each other and, the baby, Otis, is FOUR! That part killed the whole book for me, it cemented my hatred for Jenna. However, someone had their ear to the streets and in the film, she tells Eric early on in the pregnancy! Eric is shown at a doctor’s appointment and they’re together through her pregnancy – which is a total 180 from the book – a direction in which I appreciate.

Final Thought: Still hate it. This May-December romance grated my gears. Jenna’s lack of self-awareness, confidence, esteem, common sense, discernment, and good judgment really pissed me off. Eric should have never been an option, maybe on the roster for the “benefits” of a young man but, never taken seriously enough to procreate with. Ma’am you’re FORTY and he just graduated from college go play with the men who play in your sandbox.

Visual representation of my face watching The Perfect Find: