Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- witty
- warm
- breezy
- lazy sunday
- date night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the Irish setting charming and Janeane Garofalo engaging, while considering the comedy thin and the American bookends distracting.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Marcy arrives in Ballinagra during its annual Matchmaking Festival and becomes a target for professional matchmakers Dermot and Millie.
Marcy travels from an American political campaign to rural Ireland to investigate Senator McGlory's ancestry, only to be absorbed into village life.
McGlory's re-election campaign motivates Marcy's search for Irish relatives, while her romantic prospects become part of the village's political-cultural setting.
The campaign-world bookends and Ballinagra's festival-centered Irish setting create the film's central geographic and tonal contrast.
Films like The Matchmaker, and why
Waking Ned Devine
fish out of water romantic comedy pairing political or professional pressures with an Irish setting and warm ensemble humor
Only You
romantic comedy built around matchmaking, village community, and culture-clash humor
French Kiss
witty romantic comedy featuring an outsider whose plans are disrupted by an inviting local community
Movie Details
- Director
- Mark Joffe
- Release Date
- 1997-10-03
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (52)
Cast
- Janeane Garofalo
- David O'Hara
- Milo O'Shea
- Jay O. Sanders
- Rosaleen Linehan
- Paul Hickey
- Maria Doyle Kennedy
- Saffron Burrows
- Denis Leary
- Olivia Caffrey
Common questions
- What is The Matchmaker about?
- A politically motivated genealogy hunt turns an American campaign aide into the unlikely star of an Irish village matchmaking festival.
- What is The Matchmaker like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Matchmaker as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Matchmaker violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Matchmaker.
- What did critics think of The Matchmaker?
- Critics broadly found the Irish setting charming and Janeane Garofalo engaging, while considering the comedy thin and the American bookends distracting.
- Which films are like The Matchmaker?
- Films with a similar feel include Waking Ned Devine, Only You, and French Kiss.
- How long is The Matchmaker?
- The Matchmaker runs 97 minutes.
