Where Was The Perfect Find Filmed - And Why Is Its Location So Crucial?
Based on the novel of the same name by Tia Williams, "The Perfect Find" is the latest romantic comedy from Netflix. Gabrielle Union stars as Jenna Jones, a down-on-her-luck fashion editor reeling from a high-profile breakup and firing. When Jenna returns to New York to get her life back on track, she smooches a suave, much younger stranger at a party. In addition to the generational divide, there's another problem: he's the son of her best frenemy and new boss, Darcy (Gina Torres), for whom he also works.
"The Perfect Find" is the story of a woman in transition, and Jenna's comeback tale begins when she triumphantly exits the doors of Penn Station. It's one of many New York City landmarks to be prominently displayed over the course of "The Perfect Find," with spots like Peter Luger, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the 125th Street subway entrance cropping up as well.
For director Numa Perrier, it was important that "The Perfect Find" was a New York City story. Filming on "The Perfect Find" began in the summer of 2021, and the project was shot primarily in New York — specifically in Harlem.
The Perfect Find is a New York City love story
"The Perfect Find" may center around the sleek, buzzy world of fashion media, but it is at its core an old-school romance. The movie's first needle drop during the opening credits is "You Can't Lose a Broken Heart" by Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong, and Jenna and Eric (Keith Powers) bond over their love of old Hollywood movies, specifically the Black starlet Nina Kae McKinney.
In crafting the world of "The Perfect Find," Numa Perrier cited two New York-based rom-coms – "When Harry Met Sally" and "Boomerang" — as personal favorites. She hoped to imbue her own film with the same geographic specificity. "This is also a New York story," Perrier said in a production statement. "Falling in love in NYC just hits different. The romance of the Brooklyn Bridge and the electricity of being able to bump into anyone at any moment gives it that special charm that we all long for."
That said, the real rom-com flourishes occurred in nearby Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey, where additional shooting for "The Perfect Find" was completed. On the last day of filming, Gabrielle Union's husband Dwayne Wade surprised her on set with professional dancers grooving to the Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love." "I was completely shocked, hence why I have ugly cry face for so much of the video," the actress wrote on Instagram, adding, "He knows meeeeeeeee."