The Perfect Model

This low-budget, Chicago-made romantic comedy by Darryl Roberts, written by Roberts, Theresa McDade, and Ivory Ocean, deals with the class conflicts that ensue when a black movie star (Anthony Norman McKay) becomes involved with a woman (Liza Cruzat) who still lives and works in the ghetto. To paraphrase Edmund Wilson on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel, this movie commits almost every error that a movie can possibly commit (at least on a purely technical level), but it does not commit the unpardonable errorit does not fail to live. As Wilson put it, The whole preposterous farrago is animated with life. The issues that it deals with are real issues, and the fact that Roberts’s total shooting budget was only $31,000 commands respect and support. Consequently, if you can put up with dialogue scenes out of sync and other technical flaws, you may find that the sincerity, energy, and personality of this movie make it a lot more watchable and enjoyable than the technically more accomplished current releases that have no good reasons for existing; I certainly felt that way. With Stoney Jackson, Tatiana Tumbtzen, Catero Colbert, and Reggie Theus. (JR)

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