The Little Match Makers

Lilly (Hannah Frantz) is finally living in San Diego with her mother, Diane (Jacleen Haber). Mom is a divorcée and a writer with blockage, at present, so Hannah had been staying with relatives to allow Mother to finish her book. But, Diane remains depressed and doesn't accomplish much. For her part, Hannah is an amateur film maker and goes to the beach to shoot anything and everyone. One day on the shore, she meets Pepin (Julian Ortiz) a Mexican American with a father, Roberto (Valente Rodriguez) who is likewise still grieving over the loss of his wife. Since Lilly's mother may send her back to the relations and Pepin's dad might ship him to Mexican cousins, because of their mental states, the two young elementary aged kids hatch a plan. What if they get the two single parents to meet, fall in love, and begin a happily ever after life? Yes, but how? First the two try to convince the parents to be chaperones on their own date but circumstances beyond their control intervene. So, next, the children do some minor shoplifting and hope for the parents to meet at the police station! While waiting for their fuming folks to arrive, Lilly and Pepin confide in Officer Candy (Richard Hatch) and he agrees to help the kids with their plans. But, oh no, Roberto and Diane fight over a parking spot at the station and end up disliking each other on the spot! Can sparks still fly? The kids will try to make it happen. This is a sweet, nice romantic comedy for the ever-true fans of the genre, like me. Although Hatch is the only known name, all of the cast members do a great job, especially Frantz, she is a little doll. The sunny setting is fine, as are the costumes, script and comical direction. Therefore, if you are headed to the DVD store or other outlets, jot this title down for the future, romcom lovers.

A waste of time. Not only is the music bad like everyone has said, but the audio levels are inconsistent and just as annoying as the tunes themselves. The theme and story line are horrible and predictable. Totally over-acted and the script is quite possibly the worst I've heard. Frankly, I'm surprised to see this on the shelves. It makes me optimistic that my 10 year old can pick up a camera, shoot something in a day, and get it produced.

It was quite apparent that there had to be some sort of relationship between the writer, producer, actors and crew. That's how we came to check out IMDb.com. We had a good little chuckle, scrolling through the credits and seeing the same names pop up throughout the list and deciding who might be related to whom. True crapola, but hey, they have a movie out and I don't, so kudos to them for just going for it. Sadly, I wouldn't and couldn't recommend this to anyone.

The worst movie ever? At least the worst movie I can remember. The worst acting I've ever seen on a film, from every single actor. Horrible script and even worse music. Many scenes were inappropriate for children and touched on heavy themes like divorce, depression, suicide and grief, but dealt with them inadequately. So sad I'd agreed to watch this with my children, otherwise I wouldn't have watched past first 60 seconds. It was nearly comedic it was so bad. (In fact, it might be worth a watch for a minute or two to see how bad that music is!) Many times bad acting can be remedied by decent editing but this movie did not benefit from that.

Two hours of my life I'll never get back. Don't make the same mistake!

This is a gem in mud. Is it worth picking up? Since i enjoyed the idea and moments i forgave the mud and poor elements. I am VERY critical of movies however i also enjoy worthwhile moments and the study of film. I can learn from a film poorly made on a low budget by inexperienced or ill experienced film makers. I can also respect they tried and finished.

Many movies with a 6 or 7 rating i find horrible so what is in a rating? Personal bias. I have been more disappointed by movies with high ratings so since i liked and enjoyed elements in this film I give it a 6 or 7.

++ I liked some ideas, however -- the execution was poor -- horrible canned wooden memorized unnatural dialog delivery -- Script poor, color, lighting, poor elements -- audio levels i could overlook -- casting OK to poor

++ The Idea of depressed single parents ++ Proactive articulate 11 year old girl, Film maker, friendly, thinking, curious, happy cheerful, not obese ++ devoted creative parents...yet depressed

I watch a poor film, i enjoy.... and then a great film and compare the elements in a written list. As an aspiring filmmaker i feel the need to see poor quality and compare it to the best. A story that has potential but misses is a curiosity. What would I do to change and improve a gem in the mud?

To sum up this is an unpolished gem in ... mud...for study with a sweet story

++ children worried about parents, willing to act and do, to help ++ real people need help with depression, anger, fear.

++ Simple solutions may or may not work, but always can make us think of better

I will watch it again!

Just by looking at the poster,I could figure out what this movie was going to be like and about.I mean this in no disrespect to the writers and everything,but it is a predictable plot.You have your humor,drama,and other cliché movie themes.I mean:two kids with single parents meet,become friends,do the math.But one thing's different from others:they befriend a cop and not some thug. This isn't an awful movie,but it's also not a masterpiece.I guess you would want to watch it as a family who's easily amused.I believe it is ABC Family material though. If you're expecting to be blown away by cinematic genius,please look somewhere else.Some (if not most) indie movies are great,but this another independent film who found the prettiest child actors they could find,and a washed up actor(Valente Rodriguez)who couldn't find work anywhere else. But if you want a family friendly movie,here you go.