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The Matchmaker [1997]
![The Matchmaker [1997]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51A8VJFC11L._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £9.99
Our Price: £2.85 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
As she does in The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Janeane Garofalo proves she's a capable leading lady--beautiful, charming, self-effacing, and what used to be referred to as sharp as a tack. Garofalo plays Marcy, aide to dim Massachusetts senator McGlory (Jay O. Sanders). Denis Leary is appropriately slimy as a fellow aide. The senator and Nick dispatch Marcy to the remote (and fictitious) Irish town of Ballinagra, where she's supposed to unearth relatives to use in the senator's PR campaign. Along the way, Marcy not only encounters the eccentric locals, but finds herself in the maelstrom of the town's annual matchmaking festival. The single Marcy inadvertently catches the eye of the movie's eponymous matchmaker Dermot (a captivating Milo O'Shea). Dermot senses sparks between Marcy and the equally cynical, recently returned local boy, Sean (David O'Hara), once a successful journalist who's returned home to work on a book. The intimacies of the small town, the relationships between the locals, and the dialogue are credible and engaging. Look for beautiful cinematography and music, too. Also notable is the movie's ability to convey the feel of a foreign film while injecting humor that's both sarcastically American and yet Irish in trademark. --N.F. Mendoza
The Matchmaker
Review date: 2007-11-08 Rating: 10 out of 10
I have watched this film time and time again and I never fail to find it as funny as I did the first time I watched it. If you are Irish you can totally get the humour in this film. I found it hilarious and would strongly recommend it.
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Reviews
Little masterpiece
Review date: 2006-11-23 Rating: 10 out of 10
Despite the region 2 indicator, this dvd now has a UK and Irish release.
Ten years on, this gem of a movie still pulls at my heart strings. Garofelo, Leary and O'Hara all shine in this wonderful little tale centred around the Ballinagra "Matchmaking" festival.
Marcy (Janeane Garofelo) is sent by her Boston senator boss (Jay O.Sanders) and aide (Denis Leary) to the Emerald Isle to try and find his Irish roots in a push to secure votes. Seemingly unfazed and hacked off at the trip (although she gives a wry smile at a painting of JFK at Shannon Airport!) she motors around Ballinagra trying to do her job, whilst the local matchmaker Dermot (Milo O'Shea) is trying to set her up with Sean (David O'Hara), a world-weary journalist happier serving in a bar and taking the rise out of his brother.
O'Shea, in particular, is wonderful as Dermot - when Irish eyes are smiling, you know they're up to something.....
The film is utterly predictable - but that's part of its charm. It was filmed mainly around Connemara in County Galway and the scenery is truly breathtaking.
This movie won't change your life - but it will innocently take you away from rough and ready modern life - if only for a few hours.
Highly recommended.
Funny in a cute way!
Review date: 2006-08-18 Rating: 6 out of 10
This is not the best film in the world but it leaves a nice taste in your mouth after watching it. Janeane is lovely, her character is a bit lost in rural Ireland and sometimes you just want to tell her to stop moving and complicating things but I have been there so I felt for her.
The plot is not quite good but the Matchmaker was a funny man and the Irish cliches are the usual ones but they made me laugh.
In short, not the best film in the world but a good movie for a sunday afternoon while it is raining outside and all you want is hot cocoa and a few laughs.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
David O'Hara
Denis Leary
Milo O'Shea
Janeane Garofalo
Creators:
Janeane Garofalo (Primary Contributor)
David O'Hara (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Universal Pictures UK
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK
EAN: 5050582359411
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-01-02
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 94 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1997
Language: English (Original Language)