The MatchMaker (1997)

Director:

Mark Joffe

Writers (WGA):

Greg Dinner (earlier screenplay)
Karen Janszen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A comedy for the incurably unromantic.

Plot:

Marcy is an assistant to Senator John McGlory, who is having problems with a re-election campaign. Desperate for Irish votes...

Plot Keywords:

Festival | Irish | Ireland | Matchmaker | Election

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Janeane Garofalo	...	Marcy Tizard
David O'Hara	...	Sean Kelly
Milo O'Shea	...	Dermot O'Brien
Jay O. Sanders	...	Senator John McGlory
Rosaleen Linehan	...	Millie O'Dowd
Paul Hickey	...	Declan Kelly
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Sarah Kelly
Saffron Burrows	...	Moira Kennedy Kelly
Denis Leary	...	Nick
Olivia Caffrey	...	Annie
Joan Sheehy	...	Bus Passenger
Anne Gildea	...	Airport Assistant
Claude Clancy	...	Michael the Bus Driver
James Ryland	...	Sergeant Riley
David King	...	Local Lad No. 1

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Ireland | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Germany:6 (w) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cottonwood Cafe - 222 Berkeley Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Good Film Company

Trivia:

Ballinagra, the name of the town in the movie is a reworking on the Irish 'Baile Na Gra' which means 'Town of Love'.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In a scene where the senator (still in the US) is in a limousine, there are Ivory Coast flags flying from the car (orange, white and green, rather than the green, white and orange of the expected Irish flags). As this is exactly the kind of mistake a clueless wannabe-Irish politician might make, it might have been deliberate on the part of the film-makers.

Quotes:

Nick: Okay. Plan 2.
Senator John McGlory: You mean Plan B?
Nick: Plan B, 2, what's the difference?
Senator John McGlory: What's Plan B-2?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Raglan Road

Lame? Waste of Talent? Bollocks! This is terrific.

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.