Michael Ealy is too good to be true, as a lover in disguise, in “The Perfect Guy”. After a painful breakup, successful lobbyist Leah Vaughn (Sanaa Lathan) jumps into a passionate relationship with a charming stranger (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. Ultimately, “The Perfect Guy” just doesn’t take enough chances, and because of this, it’s a little too good to be true like it’s antagonist. If you have seen one of these stalker-lover films, you have seen them all. I have seen so many of these films that i can play bingo with the cliche points that pop up during the film. That is a real shame, because this movie isn’t exactly a terrible one. It is entertaining and a nice distraction for a couples date night. What i found puzzling about the film was a screenplay that feels like it was written by someone who has watched every single one of these kind of films. I am a fan of Michael Ealy, and he has proven that he can play a villain in the TV show “The Following”. What’s unfortunate for him here is that he doesn’t have much to work off of. What the script calls for is for him to be as creepy and laughable as possible, so the audience couldn’t stop laughing during the motivation scenes that call for this guy to be a dangerous threat. If you have ever heard a friend paint a picture of ridiculous things that stalkers do, Ealy one ups them in this film. Everything from sniffing bed pillows, to using video surveillance in Lathan’s home, to self inflicted pain. Ealy has it all covered. I really wanted him to succeed, but i just couldn’t take him seriously enough for 95 minutes. Lathan has once again played the female lioness role to success. We spend the most time with her, so it’s easy to spot her frail-to-fighter transition by the end of the film. The fiery tension between her and Ealy works, but the movie’s quick pacing left everything in shambles. Director David Rosenthal is piling in too much to this movie’s acts, and as a result, i found out that i had only been in the film for a half hour when it felt well into an hour. I think it could’ve done wonders for the dilemma in Leah’s head when it all goes wrong if she spent more time with Ealy before we get to that point. Everything just whizzes by, and if you need proof, she dates and breaks up with both guys by the twenty five minute point of the movie. In a film rushed this quickly, some on-screen text describing the time shift would’ve been helpful. I think the film is going for months passing by in this toxic relationship, but because every transition scene is so bunched together, it feels like they couldn’t possibly be dating longer than a week. “The Perfect Guy” is an easy enough sit to get you intrigued enough by the predictable shifts in the film’s story. If only the movie took more chances and slowed down for some of that relationship building exposition, this movie would’ve been a welcome surprise in an overflowing genre market. It’s charming, but this is one “Perfect Guy” that will leave the ladies and the audience alike in a search for that elusive grail.

5/10