THE MATCHMAKER A film review by Andrew Hicks Copyright 1998 Andrew Hicks
(1997) *1/2 (out of four)
Janeane Garofalo in a romantic comedy -- it was a good idea a couple years ago with THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS but is almost excruciating in THE MATCHMAKER. This is a by-the-books movie that plods along on a predestined course with no surprises and very few laughs. It also jumps on the ever-popular political satire bandwagon and manages to fall flat there, too.
Garofalo plays a campaign aide to a Massacusetts senator (Jay O. Sanders) running for reelection. Denis Leary plays the stereotypical Strategist With No Ethics who decides the only way for the scandal- plagued senator to win is to play up his Irish roots and cash in on that Boston Roman Catholic Democrat contingent that's made the Kennedy family so popular. So Leary orders Garofalo to go to Ireland and dig up some relatives to exploit.
She soon learns why "Easier said than done" is the mantra of movies like this. THE MATCHMAKER falls for every cliche of things that can go wrong -- Garofalo has to take a tiny plane to Ireland, almost misses the bus to town, can't get a hotel room, ends up in the smallest, trashiest one around, has a dog piss on her luggage, and so on.
Then comes what Roger Ebert calls the "Meet Cute." It happens in every romance: the man and woman have to meet each other for the first time in some unconventional, cinematic way. In THE MATCHMAKER, it happens when Garofalo walks into her hotel bathroom and finds a nude Sean (David O'Hara) in the bathtub, his dog sitting at his side. No points for guessing it's the same dog that just made water on her luggage.
Also no points for guessing Garofalo hates O'Hara on sight. That's how it works in movies like these. I know from the instant I saw that Irishman in the bathtub that she'd hate him for awhile, then succumb to his charms, live happily for a reel or so before allowing some superficial detail to throw the relationship into turmoil, after which they'd reconcile in time for a happy Irish tune to play over the end credits.
I haven't mentioned the movie's twist yet. Garofalo comes to the small Ireland town during the annual matchmaking festival, during which lonely folks from around the county pair off into a future of bliss. Milo O'Shea (who looks like an Irish Tom Snyder) is the matchmaker who pops onscreen occasionally to spew his words of wisdom and bring lonely souls together. Rest assured he'll do all he can to match up Garofalo and O'Hara. Oh, and in keeping with THE MATCHMAKER's utter predictability, he dies toward the end.
What the message here? Sometimes even the most respectable person of comedic distinction, like Garofalo, will sell out with a weak script. I was excited to see Garofalo and Leary in the same movie, but they actually only have two or three scenes together. Leary stays stateside, for the most part, yelling at Garofalo over the phone and generally being an asshole. He even undoes himself with the old Microphone's Still On After He's Done Giving The Speech cliche. Both of them should have known better.
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