TL;DR – While it is a bit stodgy at times, it has a real heart to it and an interesting premise.   

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Review –

In recent times, one strength that Netflix has really leaned into is producing quality rom-coms a genre that had been left wanting in the cinematic landscape recently. Indeed we have even been getting the highs of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and given that our lead here with the impressive eyebrows is finding a niche in this genre I was interested to see how it would go. Well, it was fine, but the more it meant on the more it felt like while it had an interesting premise, it didn’t quite stick the landing in parts.  

So to set the scene, as high school is coming to the end, the world is finding out what to do next. For Brooks Rattigan (Noah Centineo), it trying to get into Yale, he wants to change the world, even though he has no idea what it is that he needs to change. He has the chance to go to a public college but he wants to go to Yale but how is he going to pay for it or even get in. Things change one day when one of the rich kids at his school Reece (Zak Steiner) was lamenting that he had to take his cousin Celia (Laura Marano) to a high school social and Brooks steps in because he needs money. During the ‘date’ Celia mentions that he would make a great stand-in boyfriend, well one app made by his friend Murph (Odiseas Georgiadis) later and a new business is made.

To start with, this is a really well-made film, with real attention of detail to framing and lighting that makes everything pop. As well as this, there is a really interesting premise behind it all. Brooks is a stand-in provides an interesting way of moving the story forward, it also allows for one of the best montage sequences that I have seen in a very long time. Frankly, it has the feeling of something that a teenager would do given the circumstances.

However, while it is an interesting premise it just feels like a shield that a standard paint by numbers rom-com is hiding behind. What we have is the story of one guy with two options, the girl he pines for and the girl that he should really date. The platonic relationship is the one that has merit but neither of them realises it even though it is painfully obvious to literally everybody around them. Which makes some of the actions of the supporting cast a little odd. This is not helped by some dialogue at the start of the film which feels really forced, painfully forced, like people were having a douche bag off.

However, while it was a very stock standard story, one that I have seen time and time again, you can’t help but get sucked into it all. Part of this is that Brooks does actually get some really needed character development throughout the film, as does Celia. This means that while it has some stodgy sections to get through, by the end you can’t help but sit there with a smile on your face.

In the end, do we recommend The Perfect Date? Look is it the best rom-com, no, I mean it is not even the best staring Noah Centineo. But it was a fun film, and it also has some real heart to it, so if you do give it a watch, you have a great time.     

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Perfect Date
Directed by – Chris Nelson
Story by – Steve Bloom
Screenplay by – Steve Bloom & Randall Green
Based on – The Stand-In by Steve Bloom
Music by – Joe Wong
Cinematography by – Bartosz Nalazek
Edited by – Brad Wilhite & Tara Timpone
Production/Distribution Companies – Ace Entertainment, AwesomenessFilms & Netflix
Starring – Laura Marano, Noah Centineo, Odiseas Georgiadis, Camila Mendes, Matt Walsh, Joe Chrest, Carrie Lazar, Alexander Biglane, Blaine Kern III, Zak Steiner & Wayne Péré
Rating – Australia: M;