Movie Review: The Perfect Date

By Lavinia Micheletti

Good morning, noon, afternoon, or evening to you, dear reader! You are about to read my review and my opinions on Netflix’s movie, To All the Boy’s I’ve Loved Before…No…Sierra Burgess Is a Loser…No, not that either…Oh! Yes…The Perfect Date. Netflix has been pumping out romantic comedies with ol’ Noah Centineo. I will disclaim now, that there may be spoilers, even though the trailer tells you half the plot, anyways.

So, The Perfect Date is Netflix’s newest romantic movie, since it came out April 12th, 2019. The movie lasts 1 hour and thirty minutes. As I have already mentioned, it stars Noah Centineo, as well as Camilla Mendes, Laura Marano, and Odiseas Georgiadis, to name a few. It is about Brook Rattigan, a boy who is obsessed with getting into Yale and fixated on the fact that he is poor and wants to be rich. In his quest for riches and success, he decides to make an “In-Stand” App, which allows you to book a boyfriend. He decides to use the cash he makes for his university. Through his journey, he learns about materialism, fixation, and becoming more aware of others. Of course, like any rom-com, there are a few girls involved and a best friend. Yup, this movie really checks off the whole list.

I’ll start with what I liked about the movie. I liked that it showed how different people view universities and the fixation that goes along with the application process. I really thought that was a really good message. Shelby Pace, played by Camilla Mendes, for example has the next seven years of her life planned out, while Brook Rattigan is just focused on getting into a university; he doesn’t even know what to do with his life yet. This is very relatable and a great contrast. The movie also shows the white, black, and grey areas of lying, which is also a good lesson.

The movie does have humor and wit. If you love sarcastic teens, you’ll have a blast with this movie! There are a few great stereotypes that are displayed and add to the humor. Besides, you get to see Centineo dress up at different boy/boyfriend stereotypes and that’s amusing.

But here are the cons. Now, I like romantic movies just as the next person, but there is a limit. I will start by saying I am a person that loves really great movies with beautiful meanings. So, a Netflix romantic comedy is probably not the best place to be looking for such a film, but I tried.

One main thing that annoyed me about the movie was Noah Centineo. Okay! Okay, relax! Don’t start throwing stones at me just yet! I have my reasoning! When Sierra Burgess Is a Loser came out after To All the Boy’s I’ve Loved Before, I thought, okay, well maybe they just made two movies with Mr. Centineo. Maybe, the producers thought one won’t go too well, so they made an “insurance/safety net” movie. But, when The Perfect Date came out starring Mr. Centineo, again, I was a little uncertain. Something – to me – doesn’t seem right about recasting that same “heart-throb” in different movies, continuously in the same genre. My main problem was that I actually like Centineo but am increasingly getting worried that he is going to get stereotyped as a rom-com man.

Another issue I had with the movie was that Brook Rattigan is a bit aloof. He learns awareness over the course of the movie; however, he still is, for the most part, pretty unaware. I won’t tell you what or when, because I don’t want to spoil this movie too much for you, but when he displays his biggest act of obliviousness, there is a whole kerfuffle. Though there is a pretty key “make-up-ish” moment, he still, never admits to the fact that he was so unaware, even though most of the cast blatantly point it out. Another thing! He is so obsessed with materialism. Sure, he learns his lessons, but still! The boy is obsessed with the grass is greener on the other side. Again, lessons being taught are good, but the ethics of the process are questionable.

As I have said, the movie has stereotypes, one of which is Laura Marano’s character, Celia Lieberman. Ms. Lieberman is the stereotypical, none-stereotype, if you know what I mean. She is a loose, moody, sarcastic cannon that refused to be a stereotypical girl. Even though she is supposed to be that tough archetype, I think it has been used way too much!

In a nutshell, this is a fine rainy-day movie to watch with parents or friends, but it is not original. The message it tries to convey to young teens is good, but the ethics in telling or showing them are debatable and you shouldn’t learn the negatives from this movie. Be prepared for clichés and stereotypes, which both make and break the movie. Again, if you like cheeky sarcasm and teen humor, you’ll find this movie really funny, with it’s one Friends reference!

If I had to rate this movie out of 5, I’d give it: 3.5 / 5

But this is only my opinion and review, let me know what you think!

See you next time!

- Lavinia Micheletti