User reviews

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.

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.

A romantic comedy set in Ireland that weaves a spell with the unlikely themes of a cynical search into a Boston Senator's ancestral roots to boost poor ratings back home, and a rural matchmaking festival with its simple recipe for success. This delightful movie pokes gentle ironic fun at just about every cliche in the book, Irish, big-city American and political, and is refreshingly amusing on the way..... It never takes itself too seriously, Milo O'Shea is wonderful, David O'Hara has a fine touch, and Janeane Garofola apart from being a fine actress, has the most wonderful eyes and smile. A pity we don't see more actresses with this quality rather than the strange elongated creatures that inhabit Hollywood. I loved this movie. I loved the characters, the playfulness and humour, the people were real even though the setting was a fantasy..... and I still think the ending is one of the best..... often screen romances manage to interest, stimulate, inspire etc.... but this is the only one I've seen where both actors have captured the wonder and magic that happens when two human beings delight in each other...

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.

I'm an avid watcher of old re-runs on cable on the HBO and Cinemax movies in Singapore. We rarely get our just desserts, the fare that we're dished with is usually standard -- middle of the road TV movies, the standard who dunnit murder mysteries, low budget horror flicks and the occasional not-so-funny comedies. Sometimes you get a gem. So it's with great delight that I happened to chance onto The Matchmaker on a lazy Labor Day holiday afternoon.

I've not watched Janeane Garofalo before, apart from the small roles she's played here and there. Well she stole the show here in a very offbeat and refreshing comedy, against the backdrop and charm of a rustic small town in Ireland. The scenery is breathtaking and brings back all the memories of my last visit to the UK 10 years ago.

Garofalo is -- in her own understated way -- refreshingly funny throughout. She plays the aide for US Senator John McGlory who is sent to Ireland to trace his roots and help promote the senator as a "family" man for his re-election campaign, and that is where the hilarity begins. Garofalo is dumped into rustic Ireland and finds herself meeting eccentric people and getting caught in situations that don't help her cause. The first 30 minutes of the movie is roaringly funny.

Garofalo's cynical and nonchalant demeanor acts as a stable force, balanced against the quirky Irish characters around her, most of whom are trying to get her hitched. Perhaps the only blight to this movie is the wooden performance of Garofalo's love interest, Sean (David O'Hare), who is so boring you could be more entertained staring at wallpaper.

This is a romantic tale you get cuddle up with your love one to watch with. Heartwarming, delightful and tastefully funny in its own understated and subtle way.

I personally quite enjoy the MatchMaker; I find it cute, interesting jokes and funny characters would emerge and make me laugh, and the movie well had my attention for 2/3 of the movie. Then it got a bit confusing to me;eg. I couldn't quite understand why and what's going on in the party that the senator attended the first night he's in Ireland. Then, I felt like the movie should wrap itself up quickly after the death of the match makers but instead it kept going for quite away. I also didn't find the fighting scenes between the brothers in the bar funny at all. But I do like the Kennedy marriage joke. It totally caught me by surprise. Having said that, I think over all it is not a bad movie to see, at least it's bearable to watch as video and this movie for sure will serve as an good entertainment on a night when you have noting better to do. Before I wrap up I just want to say that I think Janeane Garofalo has loads of Charms in this movie, so as most of the cast in this movies-they do have this " real" people appeal.

I personally quite enjoy the MatchMaker; I find it cute, interesting jokes and funny characters would emerge and make me laugh, and the movie well had my attention for 2/3 of the movie. Then it got a bit confusing to me** WARNING: I AM GOING TO INCLUDED BITS OF THE PLOT HERE SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW STOP HERE**;One scene that confuse me is on the part about a party that the senator attended the first night he's in Ireland. Then, I felt like the movie should wrap itself up quickly after a funeral but instead it kept going for quite awhile. I also didn't find the fighting scenes between the brothers in the bar funny at all. But I do like the Kennedy marriage joke. It totally caught me by surprise. Having said that, I think over all it is not a bad movie to see, at least it's bearable to watch as video and this movie for sure will serve as an good entertainment on a night when you have noting better to do. Before I wrap up I just want to say that I think Janeane Garofalo has loads of Charms in this movie, so as most of the cast in this movies-they do have this " real" people appeal.

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.

A nice Irish romantic comedy starring Janeane Garofalo as an American sent to Ireland to research the ancestory of an American senator who's running for president. She finds herself in the middle of the traditional MatchMaking festival in a small Irish town. Nothing really surprising, as you can probably guess much how this story will go. But if you want a nice light comedy, it's worth watching.

*** (Out of 4)

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.

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 was a good movie. A bit slow at times but solid performances by everyone, especially Milo O'Shea. I just can't get over how much Janeane Garofalo and Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) resemble each other. Take 7 years off Heaton and she IS Janeane. Denis Leary makes a good cad in this movie. I love the closing scene where he gets his come-uppance. Got a good solid 6 from me.

I've seen this movie perhaps six times or more over the past few years, have lived in Massachusetts for awhile, and have traveled around Ireland -- so I feel fully qualified to comment on the content of this film.

First, it has a totally believable premise: an idiot Senator from Massachusetts (no surprise here), based on advice from a slimeball consultant (deftly played by Dennis Leary) sends a lackey (Janeane Garofalo) on a mission to Ireland to document his family roots, so that he can use this information to pander to his Irish constituents during a close re-election campaign.

The lackey (named Marcy) arrives in a small village during the middle of a match-making festival, tries in vain to research the Senator's family history, ends up questioning her own morality and hypocrisy, and eventually falls for a local bar-keeping Irishman (Sean, played by David O'Hara). Love triumphs in the end back at Quincy Market in Boston. How sweet.

The MatchMaker was beautifully filmed, has an excellent soundtrack, and the Irish characters, who are the true stars of the film, play their parts well. Many of the actors in the delightful movie "Waking Ned Devine" appear here as well. Overall it's a pleasant comedy. Especially fun to watch is matchmaker Milo O'Shea, and the banter he shares with a competitor (Rosaleen Linehan). The scene where the local townsfolk rebel against the Senator in a "staged" family reunion is also a laugh-aloud hoot.

However, the film is not without its problems. It's chock full of Irish stereotypes (numerous references to JFK, and lots of drinking, singing, and dancing in the pubs). The characters all seem to be overtly friendly to Marcy. Yes, the Irish are indeed friendly folk, but this movie goes way over the top at times. Marcy's in town for but a few days, yet the townspeople speak and interact with her as if they've known her for years, even after they discover her true motive for being there. Pleeeease.

The biggest problem I have with the movie is Garofalo herself. She's just not cut out to play a romantic part. She's a drinking buddy, not a lover. Her scenes with David O'Hara are awkward at best. Sure, she's mildly attractive (at least she was in 1997), but she's also gruff and gritty. These are Garofalo's supposed comedic traits, but, like her political opinions, they wear on you after awhile, and it becomes clearly and quickly apparent that she was miscast here.

One final dig against Janeane. I try to separate one's politics from the performance, but, like her character in this movie, Garofalo is a hypocrite. She's often labeled those in the current administration as "stupid," even though she's just a "hip" college dropout who has little qualification (other than being famous), to question their intelligence. The accuracy of Garofalo's views is best illustrated in the following exchange in the film between her and O'Hara...

Marcy: Is being "stupid" like being high all the time?

Sean: No, it's like being right all the time.

Well said Sean, well said.

A wonderful example of the perfectly average romantic comedy. This one gets bonus points for being set largely in Ireland (gorgeous scenery, even more gorgeous accents, and haunting music). It gets detractor points for its hackneyed plot, flat characters, and painfully missed opportunities.

All actors do a wonderful job with a terribly flaccid script. The standard "charming" Irish characters are all present -- they mention leprechauns in the picture; perhaps these cardboard cutouts of eccentric Irishmen and Irishwomen are the real leprechauns.

The love story itself is remarkably devoid of love or even romance. What saves the film is how much the actors bring to their roles, and how much we as viewers are able to fill in the huge gaps of context, character, dialogue, and significance. We want the picture to succeed, so we cheer along. But as others have noted, once watched, this film is easily forgotten.

This movie quickly became a family favourite, so much so that my sons and daughters each have a copy of their own. The movie is watched four or five times a year and none of us ever tire of it.Having watched it so often my children (now adults) know most of the dialogue and from time to time one or the other will launch into a reenactment of one of the scenes, accents and all. While, Garofalo and O'Hara are excellent, it is the remainder of the cast who provide most of the humour - some of the cast are well known here in Ireland, while others are less so. Regardless, their one line deliveries and interactions with one another will crack you up. You just have to see the 'cottage scene with the senator' it is priceless! I still end up laughing uncontrollably every time I see it. They say laughter is good for the 'soul' - watch the Matchmaker and you'll never have to worry about the state of its health!

This film never really got going...like one of those slow starters. It was weak all the way through and only really good enough to keep me watching it. I thought it would at least be somewhat funny with Denis Leary in it but I only smirked briefly 3 or 4 times.

I first watched this movie from the middle and I couldn't switch the channels after that. It was very different from the usual love stories. The interaction between the characters was great and Janeane Garofalo was brilliant. I watched it after a few weeks on video. Since then I've rented it quite a few times and I never get bored. Well worth your time. Funny and very sweet.

This may be one of the worst scripts ever written. What terrible thing did the lovely and talented Janeane Garofalo do, that she would be required to star in this abomination? I like a stupid comedy as much as the next person, but this one was labored, lame, and, at times, almost physically painful to watch.

Someone needs to tell the filmmakers that the use of the word "bollocks" is not, in and of itself, enough to make a film wildly funny. Neither are pee jokes.

Janeane, I am so, so sorry. You deserve so much better.