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‘The Perfect Date’ night movie

Noah Centineo has stolen hearts once again.

In his new Netflix original movie, “The Perfect Date,” Brooks Rattigan (Centineo) starts his own business to raise money to achieve his dream of going to Yale. He poses as a chaperone, stand-in, date or anything else people would need for any event. However, along the way, he loses those important to him in exchange for the fancy lifestyle he’s always wanted.

The story is fun and light and stays true to its teen rom-com genre. There are a lot of little moments throughout the movie that will make anyone melt.

But “The Perfect Date” isn’t afraid to counteract those with harsher moments which leave Brooks feeling worse before he can get better.

A few of the characters felt secure in their performances, specifically Celia Lieberman (Laura Marano) and Murph (Odiseas Georgiadis), Brooks’ two best friends.

I have always been a big fan of Marano from her time on Disney Channel. I thought her portrayal of Celia was well done. She captured the “rich girl wants to be different trope” very nicely without being overly pretentious.

Her character felt very level-headed, specifically in how she refuses to immediately run back to Brooks after he messes up. Celia prefers to teach him a lesson and make him work to win her back.

Georgiadis created a stellar character with Murph. He was by far my favorite.

There was an authenticity about him, and his anger towards Brooks was completely justified. I’m mostly glad that the writers didn’t make him jealous of Brooks, but instead made him demand the friendship he deserved. When Murph no longer got it, he respected Brooks’ decision and let him go on his own.

Despite the good features that movie had, there were definitely some issues.
The story itself felt entirely underdeveloped. Many subplots felt unfinished. I was left with questions about the characters’ futures.

Why did Brooks just choose his safety school?

How did Murph eventually start to hang out with “Tuna Melt on Seven Grain?”

What is “Tuna Melt on Seven Grain’s” real name?

The movie run time was an hour and a half and I think there definitely should have been more. Not in the sense it was so good I wanted more, but I at least wanted a sufficient ending.

As for characters, I felt as though Brooks’ romantic conquest Shelby Pace (Camila Mendes) fell flat. Her entire “rich girl” persona was incredibly dull.

Shelby didn’t even feel like a character but rather a conflict device. And that conflict wasn’t even that well written.

As for the man himself, Centineo’s performance felt like every other teen movie I’ve seen him in for the past year.

We get it! He’s cute and charming. Can we please see another character he can play?

Personally, I would have liked to have seen a different actor as Brooks. Not that Centineo was terrible, I just wanted to at least see someone else for a change.

With that said, I never really got on the Noah Centineo fan bus anyways; I’ve always been a Tom Holland kind of girl myself. Centineo’s diehard fans probably would have a completely different opinion.

Besides some plot and character issues, “The Perfect Date” is still an excellent movie to watch when you don’t want something serious or when you need another chick flick for girls’ night!

And besides, who doesn’t love Peter Kavinsky – I mean, Brooks Rattigan!

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