L'entremetteur

It was a little trite, but aren't they all? That is the only complaint I have about this film, and that really isn't a complaint because that is just how all romantic comedies are especially the good ones. And this is a good one. Janeane Garofalo goes ahead and proves that you don't need Julia Roberts as the romantic lead to have a good romantic comedy that people will enjoy and want to see again and again (I've watched it at least three times). This is overlooking the fact that Garofalo herself is gorgeous, and the fact that she doesn't have any clue as to how attractive she is makes her all the more charming. David O'Hara, Garofalo's love interest, is handsome and heart-warming as well. You can't help falling in love with these two, and rooting for them throughout the movie. The story is typical, boy meets girl, they hate each other, they love each other, they fight, they make up, they live happily ever after. But that's just as it should be. It is the banter between Garofalo and O'Hara that make this film along with the amazing supporting cast in this little Irish town. And Dennis Leary is hilarious as usual. Rent this instead of Pretty Woman one night, you won't be sorry.

I love this movie, I am Irish, and take no offense at either the characters or the language (bollocks!!). All of which came across as very real. Good old fashioned Irish rogues, out to have a bit of "craic"(meaning fun, pronounced "crack"). This is one of my favorite Irish movies. Janeane Garofalo is beautiful and talented, Denis Leary is hilarious in his sleaziest, Milo O'Shea and Rosaline Linehan are hilarious also as the two rival matchmakers, although Rosaline wasn't given near enough to do. Lots of colorful Irish characters, Eamon Kelly, David Kelly too. If you like a bit of old fashioned "stage" Irishness, then you'll enjoy this movie, lots of laughs and little off color humor (when Eamon Kelly finds his missing teeth - yuk!)but definitely laugh out loud hilarious entertainment. Did I mention the lovely West of Ireland and Aran Islands scenery? Watch out for reviews with spoilers, as they'll ruin the whole movie for you.

I really don't understand why Janeanne Garofalo doesn't get more roles. She is a truly wonderful actress who owns the screen when she's on it. There is never anything forced about her performances. They always seem natural. Here, she plays Marcy Tizard, a spin doctor for a U.S. senator trying to get re-elected. Her job has become to track down his relatives from the small town in Ireland where his family emigrated from. This will help the senator secure the Irish vote in Chicago and win him the election. So off to Ireland she goes in an attempt to find his missing relatives. Of course, nothing is ever easy and Marcy finds herself smack dab in the middle of a match making festival. While fending off possible suitors, she becomes entwined in the lives of several colourful locals. Among them is of course, the local matchmaker (Milo O'Shea) who has taken to setting her up with Sean (David O'Hara), the local bartender and former journalist. The humour is warm and the characters are all well drawn out. Denis Leary has a small role as a colleague and resident ***hole. The film truly belongs to Garofalo as she is perfectly cast in the role of weary and cynical Marcy. Give it a shot. It's a near perfect match.

If this movie isn't the best thing Janeane Garofalo has ever done it must be close. The acerbic wit she was known for on "The Larry Sanders Show" is there, but so is everything else. She's a three-dimensional character.

It's refreshing to see a love story without a sex scene, or even a gratuitous nude or near nude scene. Most filmmakers nowadays would throw something like that in just to tease audiences with it in the trailer. But "Matchmaker" is an honest movie, and Garofalo's Marcy is tough yet vulnerable and loveable.

Some would say that "Matchmaker" exploits the Irish by way of stereotyping them. I had the opposite impression. It seemed that the people who made this movie loved the Irish.

Usually I find myself agreeing with the aggregate score of each movie in the IMDb. But in this case I'm out of the mainstream. The aggregate score is 6.2, which normally indicates a barely watchable movie. But I gave Matchmaker a 10.

Marcy (Janeane Garofalo) is working on a Massachusetts senatorial campaign for a gentleman named McGlory. It is a tooth-and-nail fight between the candidates and McGlory is desperate for some "oomph". Having always been told that his family came from a certain village in Ireland, he sends Marcy across the ocean to locate his long lost roots. The would-be senator feels this would connect him with the many Irish-American voters in the east coast state. Marcy goes, reluctantly. In the village, she has a hard time finding temporary digs, as there is a big "matchmaking" festival going on. She is reduced to staying at a little inn, in a tiny room, and having a handsome man named Sean using her bathtub, if the mood strikes him. The main local matchmaker (Milo O'Shea) says Marcy and Sean are a good match but Marcy resists this notion. However, on her search for McGlory's past, she meets up with Sean on many an occasion. Could something be brewing in the love department? First, this is a great movie to see Garofalo in action. Long heralded as a mighty comedian, she deftly carries this film with her large talent for humor and she looks beautiful, too. The Irish setting is also so lovely that one almost wishes every movie could be shot in this beautiful country. O'Shea is "simply marvelous" in his role as the man who, unmarried himself, gets other unlikely couples together. Then, too, the script is quite nice, with lines such as "when have you ever been backwards at being forward?"! There is a big surprise at the end, which makes for a giant sendoff in the laugh department. Do you love romantic comedies with sparkle, wit, and lovely surroundings? This movie is a great match for your late night film enjoyment wishes.