THE MATCHMAKER (Gramercy) Starring: Janeane Garofolo, David O'Hara, Milo O'Shea, Jay O. Sanders, Denis Leary. Screenplay: Karen Janszen, Louis Nowra and Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Luc Roeg. Director: Mark Joffe. MPAA Rating: R (profanity, adult themes) Running Time: 97 minutes.
Long-time readers of this space will recall that I have never promoted the myth of critical objectivity. I am merely a man, folks, a flesh-and-blood film fan with preferences and pet peeves just like everyone else. Brilliant special effects will never move me like a brilliant script will. I'm indifferent about baseball, but I love baseball movies. "Heartwarming comedies" leave me cold. I'm too easy on Woody Allen sometimes. And so on.
THE MATCHMAKER appears to have been made with a direct network connection to my cinematic soft spots. Put Janeane Garofolo in a leading role, and I'm yours to lose. Set a story in Ireland, and the battle for my affections is half won. Put Janeane Garofolo in a leading role in a story set in Ireland...well, now you're just not playing fair. Their combined charm is irresistable, flimsy though the story may be.
Garofolo plays Marcy Tizard, a second-tier worker for the re-election campaign of Massachusetts senator John McGlory (Jay O. Sanders). Trailing badly in the pools, McGlory and his campaign manager Nick Ward (Denis Leary) come up with a desperate plan to win over the state's Irish vote: McGlory will visit with his actual kin in Ireland. The job of actually finding those kin is left to Marcy, who is sent to the small coastal town of Ballinagra to dig up McGlory's roots. Little does she know that she'll be landing in the middle of the town's annual match-making festival, or that the town's leading matchmaker (Milo O'Shea) has his eye on fixing up Marcy with an enigmatic local fellow named Sean (David O'Hara).
On a number of levels, it's clear that THE MATCHMAKER needs a bit more fleshing out. Character development for Marcy is sorely lacking, leaving plenty of unanswered questions about her as she heads to Ireland. What is her life like in America? What kind of romantic history does she bring to her relationship with Sean? Why is she working for a pea-brain like McGlory whose campaign slogan ("Hey Ho Let's Go") is a Ramones lyric? In short, who is Marcy, besides a character for Janeane Garofolo to play? Her relationship with Sean (nicely played by David O'Hara as a fiery idealist) is better developed than you find in most romantic comedies, but we never understand why it might be truly important to Marcy. It's all very pleasant, in an inconsequential sort of way.
Then again, if you add up all the things about THE MATCHMAKER which are very pleasant, you have a fairly pleasant film experience. First there is Garofolo herself, a screen presence unlike any other in film. Acerbic, smart and unconventionally beautiful, Garofolo improves a story by her mere presence. She doesn't have as strong a character to latch on to as she had in THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS & DOGS, but she's still an energetic presence who's easy to root for. O'Hara is also quite pleasant, as is O'Shea as the ethically shaky matchmaker. And of course there's the scenery and the local Irish color, which is very pleasant indeed.
THE MATCHMAKER has a heavy strain of fish-out-of-water comedy to it, but it rarely reeks of formula thanks to Mark Joffe's low-key direction and Garofolo's ability to underplay a reaction take. Still, as the film strolls along towards its conclusion with a few unnecessary intrusions by the political sub-plot, it might be seen as a bit uninspired and tedious, objectively speaking. I'm not objectively speaking, of course. One viewer might find little to like about THE MATCHMAKER. Another -- who shall remain nameless -- might spend 95 minutes smiling at a friendly face in a friendly place.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 match shticks: 6.
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