One Perfect Match

I love Merritt Patterson and I have since I saw her in her first Hallmark Christmas movie. At this point, she is also one of the few really good actresses for either Hallmark or Great American Family that is still young enough to do a "first love" romance. She has a presence on screen. So it is painful to me to give this move less than a glowing review, but for reasons I will explain, it wasn't because of her.

The movie is dominated by a theme and a tone. The theme is ethics. The tone is awkwardness. The former leads to the latter.

Ethics really dominates the movie. It is mentioned often and when not explicitly mentioned it shows up in the relationships through body language and fitful speech. A lot of stuttering or fitful speech. I think that Patterson and Joshua Sasse could have had chemistry, but they had to play so much of the movie with the awkward tension between them that it was hard to see chemistry.

As to ethics, normally the idea of the matchmaker dating a client wouldn't bother me. But the specific situation here made it a problem. It led to deception between Lucy and Molly, Finn and Molly, and to a certain extent between Finn and Lucy. Trust is important in a general sense for each of those relationships. Certainly, Molly needs to be able to trust Lucy due to the dynamic of client and matchmaker. Trust is also important for any dating relationship.

The acting was mostly good. The dialogue had some good moments but was mostly average. Like so many movies on this network, the background music is not background enough. It is noticeable at times.

The story was a big problem. I've already explained a few reasons. Also, this movie reminds me of another on a rival network not long ago but I don't remember the name or the stars. The development is very similar. The story lacks any great highs or lows or surprises. It is very predictable from the mini-surprise at the vineyard to the end. One slightly unusual aspect is that the only conflict or tension is obvious almost from the beginning. There isn't really a conflict moment just before the climax.

I think there are a couple of positive stars added to bring my rating up to mediocre just because of Merritt Patterson.

Joshua Sasse seems to have set up shop in Queensland in 2023, filming two movies there - One Perfect Match and the Netflix production with Delta Goodrem, Love is in the Air.

The latter was better than the former, by a long way.

Sasse is a good actor and Merritt Patterson, as gorgeous as ever, is one of my favourites - I will watch anything she is in, without hesitation - but this movie was far too slow, proceeding at something around a glacial pace at the best of times, with an uninteresting plot (to me, anyway) and it was more cliched than these movies usually are. A bad triumvirate.

The majority of these GAC Family movies definitely don't have the production values that Hallmark and Lifetime do. That's a shame, give the acting talent - Patterson, Jen Lilley etc. - that network has on it's books. A lack of budget was, to me, much more noticeable in 'One Perfect Match' than in most of the other GAC titles I've watched.

I also think the producers missed an opportunity to set this in Australia, rather than having Queensland masquerade for somewhere in America.

I like this kind of movie as much or more than the next person, but sometimes they fall flat and this one did. I really wanted to like it, but I really couldn't get into it.

Movies of this type have taken a nose dive in quality recently. However this one is very watchable.

Some random thoughts:

The movie is shot in a very sterile way. Meaning there is no real sense that the movie takes place in real life but more of a bubble the characters live in by themselves.

The set design is visually beautiful at times. The color palette of the movie is vivid basic colors with simple sets that often look more like art than real life. It makes for a beautiful movie but...see comment above.

Too much circular panning for me.

(I mention these three things first because they, more than the characters or story, are what stood out the most watching the movie.)

The writing is good enough. Nothing crazy here and no overall message the writers/director is trying to push on the audience (so refreshing).

The plot is basic with the only twist being the two main characters having significant confidence issues towards their love lives (it's what makes the plot go). It's hard to believe these characters would have the same issues in real life (who knows maybe they would) but the actors do a decent enough job of selling their personal issues so you can buy into the story.

Overall a good watch if you like these kinds of movies.

Great American Family (GAF) struck it out of the ballpark with this movie!!! The actors/actresses were absolutely amazing! This is not a movie that you can just listen to, it has to be watched, and watched closely. The reason is due to all of the subtle expressions that cross the main characters faces. Wonderful - Enrapturing!! My wife and I were captivated by what was said in these expressions! The supporting cast were fantastic too!! I agree with another poster who said there should be some awards for this movie! And to the person who commented on GAF "holy rollers". Let me just say that these "holy rollers" created an exceptional and heart warming movie that transcends political correctness!!! Kudos GAF and please continue creating such wonderful movies with exceptional actors and actresses!!! I also agree with another poster who pointed out the benefit of the characters reading their own texts! Loved it! You really can't go wrong by watching this movie, just watch it closely!

Great move. Great casting. Great chemistry. Loved this movie! The storyline was typical but so well written and the main character calling himself Gray, and having the high power job with the suits and the general demeanor gave me fifty shades vibes in a very PG rated way. Merritt Patterson is ALWAYS a pleasure to watch in anything she does and the chemistry between these two was off the charts from their very first run in within minutes of the movie starting. You could feel it jumping off the screen. Again kudos to the writing of this film, we need more of this stuff on our screens! The vineyard where they filmed was STUNNING also. A++ all around!!