Gabrielle Union serves as a giant, wearing many hats for the culture. She's an advocate for believing in your child unconditionally. She speaks up for equal opportunity in work, justice, and equality. And now, she is showing the girls that 50-year-olds can, in fact, do it better in her latest film, The Perfect Find.
The actress dropped a few screengrabs of the film on her Instagram, leaving the fans squealing after noticing Keith Powers as her love interest (and who happens to be 20 years her junior). "It’s almost time! First look at my new movie, THE PERFECT FIND, coming to @Netflix on June 23! @NetflixFilm #ThePerfectFindNetflix #Tudum," the post was captioned.
But what can we expect from Netflix's newest romantic comedy? Here's everything we know about Union's new film, 'The Perfect Find.'
In the film, Keith Powers plays Gabrielle Union's boss' son.
Map that one out in your mind.
After being fired from her high-profile job and losing her long-time boyfriend in a chaotic way, Jenna (Union) is forced to move back to New York City in an attempt to revive her career. Things get a bit messy as she finds herself working for her frenemy, Darcy (Gina Torres), but also falls for her younger, charming coworker, Eric (Powers), who also happens to be Darcy’s son. Jenna is then faced with the decision to risk it all on the secret romance, and see if there can be a future with Eric despite their age and generation gap.
“Rom-coms are back,” director Numa Perrier teases at Netflix’s Tudum. “This is the movie. You’re going to laugh, you’re going to cry and it is very sexy. We will have our chemistry, we will have our sensuality, we will have all the things.”
When it came to selecting Powers as her love interest, Union says it was a no-brainer.
Courtesy of Netflix
“Everyone was like, ‘Okay, that might be a slightly younger person that people might throw it all away for,’” she told Vanity Fair. It also helped that Union and her husband, Dwyane Wade, were fans of how Powers and his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Ryan Destiny, handled their relationship publicly.
“We were openly fanning about Ryan and Keith and just loving how they moved through Hollywood, how they handled their relationship, how they handled the public love. It was just kind of a natural progression of a friendship that already existed, but it comes out of respect. He has an enormous amount of respect for Dwyane, I have an enormous amount of respect for Ryan, and it just made working super easy.”
The movie also stars Devale Ellis, DB Woodside, Janet Hubert, La La Anthony, Niecy Nash, and Gina Torres.
Perrier gives flowers to the cast, revealing that Torres is a scene-stealer as Eric’s mom and Darzine e-zine founder Darcy Hill and so much more. “She’s so magnetic, she lights up every room,” Perrier says. “We wanted her to just be an absolute New York fashion woman who’s bold and unapologetic and takes up all the space in the room. That’s who Gina Torres is. We don’t get to see her like that a lot because she plays very buttoned-up characters, but she really got to let go in the role of Darcy.”
Perrier similarly praised Hinds and Anthony, who plays Billie and Elodie, Jenna’s best friends and chosen family. “The three of them together, you feel like these are friends that have known each other and are supporting each other through every good and bad decision that they’ve made,” she says. “You feel that realness.”
Union says the film offered her the opportunity to tell a story that resonates.
Courtesy of Netflix
“[It] really sparked something inside of me about older women and how we can oftentimes disappear from society, almost, in terms of people looking at us as like we are past our prime,” she revealed. “That we carry no value, that no one sees value in a woman over 28, much less over 35, much less over 40, but baby, I’m thriving. So I wanted something that spoke to that that I hadn’t done before. Which is tough, because I’ve done a lot of rom-coms. This one is new. I’m thrilled.”
The film is based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Tia Williams.
Union was busy producing a rom-com for another A-list actor when she was inspired to make her own. Her production company, I'll Have Another, had recently optioned Robinne Lee's The Idea of You, "a very specific story to an aging white woman," Union tells Vanity Fair, "I knew it wasn't something I could just shove myself into because it really wasn't the right story for me…. We got Michael Showalter and Anne Hathaway and Cathy Schulman, and it was up and running."
The movie left Union with a desire to do the same for the culture. "It made me be on the lookout for a story that made me feel the same way, basically," That's when she was presented with the idea of bringing Tia Williams's 2016 novel, The Perfect Find to the big screen, a book suggested to Union by producer Tommy Oliver. "I'd already read it. I love that book. I love Tia. She's the shit. We have mutual friends. I'm like, Oh, my God, why didn't I think of that?"
Grab the book here!
Remember when Dwyane Wade surprised Union on set with the sweetest over-the-top romantic gesture? This was the set.
Wade sent a group of singers, dancers, and musicians to serenade Union with some of her favorite songs and also hand her a bunch of gorgeous white flowers. D'awwww!
Filming for The Perfect Find started in June of 2021 and lasted only seven weeks, officially ending by August. The film will be released on Netflix on June 23. Will you be watching?
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Featured image courtesy of Netflix
In a xoNecoleexclusive, the iconic actress opens up about embracing this season of her life, new projects, and overall being a “bad motherfucker.” Gabrielle reveals that she was 37 years old when she was diagnosed with perimenopause and is still going through it at 51 years old. Mayo Clinic says perimenopause “refers to the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years.”
“I haven't crossed over the next phase just yet, but I think part of it is when you hear any form of menopause, you automatically think of your mother or grandmother. It feels like an old-person thing, but for me, I was 37 and like not understanding what that really meant for me. And I don't think we focus so much on the word menopause without understanding that perimenopause is just the time before menopause,” she tells us.
Gabrielle Union
Photo by Brian Thomas
"But you can experience a lot of the same things during that period that people talk about, that they experienced during menopause. So you could get a hot flash, you could get the weight gain, the hair loss, depression, anxiety, like all of it, mental health challenges, all of that can come, you know, at any stage of the menopausal journey and like for me, I've been in perimenopause like 13, 14 years. When you know, most doctors are like, ‘Oh, but it's usually about ten years, and I'm like, ‘Uhh, I’m still going (laughs).’”
Conversations about perimenopause, fibroids, and all the things that are associated with women’s bodies have often been considered taboo and thus not discussed publicly. However, times are changing, and thanks to the Gabrielle’s and the Tia Mowry’s, more women are having an authentic discourse about women’s health. These open discussions lead to the creation of more safe spaces and support for one another.
“I want to be in community with folks. I don't ever want to feel like I'm on an island about anything. So, if I can help create community where we are lacking, I want to be a part of that,” she says. “So, it's like there's no harm in talking about it. You know what I mean? Like, I was a bad motherfucker before perimenopause. I’m a bad motherfucker now, and I'll be a bad motherfucker after menopause. Know what I’m saying? None of that has to change. How I’m a bad motherfucker, I welcome that part of the change. I'm just getting better and stronger and more intelligent, more wise, more patient, more compassionate, more empathetic. All of that is very, very welcomed, and none of it should be scary.”
The Being Mary Jane star hasn’t been shy about her stance on therapy. If you don’t know, here’s a hint: she’s all for it, and she encourages others to try it as well. She likens therapy to dating by suggesting that you keep looking for the right therapist to match your needs. Two other essential keys to her growth are radical transparency and radical acceptance (though she admits she is still working on the latter).
"I was a bad motherfucker before perimenopause. I’m a bad motherfucker now, and I'll be a bad motherfucker after menopause. Know what I’m saying? None of that has to change. How I’m a bad motherfucker, I welcome that part of the change."
Gabrielle Union and Kaavia Union-Wade
Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images
“I hope that a.) you recognize that you're not alone. Seek out help and know that it's okay to be honest about what the hell is happening in your life. That's the only way that you know you can get help, and that's also the only other way that people know that you are in need if there's something going on,” she says, “because we have all these big, very wild, high expectations of people, but if they don't know what they're actually dealing with, they're always going to be failing, and you will always be disappointed. So how about just tell the truth, be transparent, and let people know where you are. So they can be of service, they can be compassionate.”
Gabrielle’s transparency is what makes her so relatable, and has so many people root for her. Whether through her TV and film projects, her memoirs, or her social media, the actress has a knack for making you feel like she’s your homegirl. Scrolling through her Instagram, you see the special moments with her family, exciting new business ventures, and jaw-dropping fashion moments. Throughout her life and career, we’ve seen her evolve in a multitude of ways. From producing films to starting a haircare line to marriage and motherhood, her journey is a story of courage and triumph. And right now, in this season, she’s asking, “What’s next?”
“This is a season of discovery and change. In a billion ways,” says the NAACP Image Award winner. “The notion of like, ‘Oh, so and so changed. They got brand new.’ I want you to be brand new. I want me to be brand new. I want us to be always constantly growing, evolving. Having more clarity, moving with different purpose, like, and all of that is for me very, very welcomed."
"I want you to be brand new. I want me to be brand new. I want us to be always constantly growing, evolving. Having more clarity, moving with different purpose, like, and all of that is for me very, very welcomed."
She continues, “So I'm just trying to figure out what's next. You know what I mean? I'm jumping into what's next. I'm excited going into what's next and new. I'm just sort of embracing all of what life has to offer.”
Look out for Gabrielle in the upcoming indie film Riff Raff, which is a crime comedy starring her and Jennifer Coolidge, and she will also produce The Idea of You, which stars Anne Hathaway.
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Feature image by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
