OK, Hollywood, we already know what Janeane Garofalo can do (i.e. steal films with her juicy supporting performances, and in rare cases, charm us as a lead in a romantic comedy). How about giving her something a little more substantial to do?
That's not to say that we're completely sick of seeing Garofalo in these roles, though. In fact, her performance as a cynical campaigner is just one of several reasons to see "The Matchmaker," a winning, low-key comedy that mixes politics and small-town charm with old-fashioned romance and which owes a lot of its style to the films of Scottish director Bill Forsyth ("Local Hero," "Gregory's Girl").
And it's difficult to put into words how nice it is just to see Garofalo actually smile in a film for a change. For much of the movie, audiences will probably be smiling along with her.
However, the film does peter out toward the end, due to some extremely obvious plotting, plentiful use of some foul, foul language and an unfortunate turn toward sappy drama.
Garofalo stars as Marcy Tizard, an aide to wishy-washy Massachusetts Sen. John McGlory (Jay O. Sanders), who has fallen behind in the polls to a rival senatorial candidate that has been marching to the beat of the "family values" drum. Desperately trying to counter that strategy, his chief of staff (Denis Leary) sends Marcy to Ireland to find the senator's long-lost relatives (for an all-important "photo op").
But when Marcy arrives in McGlory's ancestral hometown of Ballinagra, she also lands smack dab in the middle of the town's Matchmaking Festival. Needless to say, she's unable to find much help in her hunt for McGlorys. But two local matchmakers, Dermot (Milo O'Shea) and Millie (Rosaleen Linehan), take a keen interest in the acerbic American, making her the subject of a wager involving their marriage-arranging skills.
Dermot's best candidate is Sean (David O'Hara), a former journalist-turned-barkeep whom Marcy meets when he turns up naked in her bathtub. At first, unpleasant sparks fly between the two, but they soon find a grudging respect for each other, especially when Marcy's fact-gathering field trip becomes fruitless.
You can probably guess where the film goes from there. But director Mark Joffe ("Cosi") keeps things moving at a brisk and mostly light-hearted pace. He's helped greatly by a terrific supporting cast (in particular, O'Shea, who almost steals a film from Garofalo for a change) and the two leads, who (refreshingly enough) aren't matinee-idol types.
"The Matchmaker" is rated R for surprising use of profanity (including the word that always gets an R rating), a couple of vulgar gags and a brief sex scene (overheard but not seen).