Amori e imbrogli

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.

The Matchmaker is a consistently funny, touching, romantic movie with lovely scenery (shot on location!) and great Irish music. All I knew at the outset of seeing it was that it involved two of my favorite things...Ireland and Janeane Garofalo. I saw it, and added a third...David O'Hara!

It's been awhile since I saw a couple as realistically portrayed as Marcy and Sean, although in the midst of it was a lot of magic. They fight, they bonk heads, they kiss, they fall head over heels...then they nearly miss the boat! You'll find yourself cheering them on at every turn.

The rest of the cast is a scream, from Denis Leary as a snide jerk of a campaign manager to Jay Sanders as the slightly dim Senator McGlory to the matchmaker himself, Milo O'Shea. They all play off each other to create a wonderfully woven story.

Sure'n I've almost worn my copy through, and will watch it again tomorrow! GO RENT IT!

This sunny comedy, directed with great verve by Mark Joffe, kept reminding me of the whimsical comedy "Local Hero" by Bill Forsyth. The film cashes in the folklore of Ireland as no other film, in recent memory does. "The Matchmaker" will charm, as well as disarm all those viewers looking for a nice time at the movies by immersing in its wonderful spell and taking the trip of discovery to Ireland.

The story relies on all the color of the Emerald Island and its people. Where could there be a matchmaking festival, but if not in Ireland? The local characters live in a magical world. In a way, those people having lived in the area where the film takes place, are richer in traditions than we city folk are. It's a sobering experience for Marcy, the otherwise cynical girl that goes searching for her boss' roots in the old country and ends up being enchanted by what she finds there. It's an experience she will not forget easily.

Jeanane Garofalo is wonderful as Marcy. This actress always projects an intelligent aura into everything she plays in films. Milo O'Shea is always amazing in anything he plays; he is no exception on this film. Mr. O'Shea is simply marvelous. David O'Hara, Paul Hickey, Maria Boyle Kennedy, Saffron Burrows and Denis Leary, among others, do excellent work under Mr. Joffe's direction.

Sorry to whomever thought this was "a lame waste of a fine actress" (the wonderful Janeane Garofalo) but for the record, Irishmen (and women, one presumes) actually *do* say "bollocks" with the frequency with which Americans say the "S" word, and there's merely ONE "pee" joke in the entire film.

Sheesh.

That said, this is an utterly charming film, involving a US Senator (Jay O. Sanders) from Boston with Kennedian aspirations ~ although he's trailing badly in the polls for re-election. So he and acerbic campaign manager Denis Leary send their jaded top aide (JG) to Ireland to find the Senator's geneology ~ his "roots" as it were ~ for campaign purposes.

Unfortunately for her, the tiny town in which she's to do her research is just beginning its annual "Matchmaking Festival," wherein this really takes hold of Erin-firma.

City~gal JG, who's used to [and yearns for] faxes, cell-phones and email is suddenly the top candidate for the gentry. And her quest for the Senator's geneology proves slowly to fall below her expectations.

But Milo O'Shea, as the town's premiere matchmaker, wagers with a matchmaking rival that he can get JG together with one of the town's seeming ne'er-do-wells (David O'Hara) and the latter is just as eager to ... ummm.. "fax" her as well.

To say more would spoil the fun. And it *is* fun. And poignant. And sweet. And occasionally acid-witted. Only one solid "rewind and watch it again" belly laugh, but a lot of great plotting and a fun love story.

Sure it's candy, but it's infinitely edible.

You want lame? See a Jim Carrey movie. Any of them. Want to see talent wasted? Cameron Diaz screams to mind.

Janeane Garofalo in *anything* is better than just about anyone in most films today.

4 Stars, say I.

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.