Susan Granger’s review of “The Perfect Match” (Lionsgate/Codeblack Films)
In this wannabe romantic comedy, Los Angeles-based talent agent Charlie Mac (Terrence Jenkins) is a commitment-phobic Lothario who encourages a steady stream of women to visit his posh Hollywood Hills pad, dutifully taking off their high-heels when they arrive for a one-night stand.
“As soon as I have sex with them, all my interest magically disappears,” he tells his friends.
“You just haven’t met the right person yet,” they reply, advising him that “The best way to go through life is in a relationship.”
Determined to have a baby, Rick (Donald Faison) and his wife Pressie (Dascha Polanco) have eliminated all spontaneity from their sexuality in favor of the optimum timing to achieve pregnancy.
Then there’s Victor (Robert Christopher Riley), who is increasingly anxious about the escalating expenses of his upcoming wedding to Ginger (Lauren London), who not only earns more than he does but also seems to have her heart set on the $6,000 wedding cake touted by their wedding planner (Robin Givens).
Shortly after Charlie accepts their challenge to have sex with only one woman in the month leading up to the wedding, he meets stunning, sexy singer/model Eva (Cassie Ventura). Just out of a long-term liaison, she lets him know she’s strictly into fun and frolic – with no strings attached.
But nothing is as easy as it seems, explains Charlie’s older sister, Sherry (Paula Patton), a psychotherapist who traces his obvious relationship issues back to unresolved grief over the death of their parents.
Meanwhile, Charlie’s trying to sign rapper French Montana, and diva Brandy Norwood is so devoted to some arcane concept of spirituality that, for an hour each day, she has her bodyguard Boris carry her around so her feet don’t touch the ground.
Clichés clog the script by Brandon Broussard, Gary Hardwick and Dana Verde, directed by Billie Woodruff (“Beauty Shop”). Their congenial characters exhibit neither depth nor development. Charlie’s a hollow cipher and Eva’s curvaceous beauty is strictly skin-deep. And everyone’s problems seem to be solved, as if by magic, by the conclusion.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Perfect Match” is a faltering 4, fumbling and forgettable fluff.
