MATCH ME IF YOU CAN – Review by Emma Badame
Romantic comedies are making a comeback. There were a few years there where there were sparse pickings in the perennial favorite genre but there has been a real resurgence, especially on the streamers. Marian Yeager’s Match Me If You Can is the latest offering in this 21st century cohort. With a lower budget than many of its contemporaries, the new film has a touch of the Hallmark about it and, despite some engaging supporting performances and a few charming moments, is likely to appeal only to true rom-com devotees.
The comedy centers on Kip Parsons (Georgina Reilly), a LARP-ing computer nerd who has–for all intents and purposes–sworn off love. But one night at home and a batch of cocktails later sees her make one more attempt to fnd “the one” via a new, popular online dating service. When the service rejects her application and labels her as “unmatchable”, Kip takes to her blog to declare war on both the service and the unreasonable expectations of a misogynistic society. Her complaints go viral after hitting a nerve with (mostly) women and (some) men, who see themselves in Kip’s daily struggles and desire to take on The Man.
Her protests, and their popularity, bring her to the attention of dating service “I Promise”. The company is run by an unlucky in love, but super handsome, nerd (Wilson Bethel) whose parents and brother make up the rest of the start-ups only staff. Rom-com connoisseurs can see from a mile off where things go from there.
Tropes are a part of what make rom-coms so comforting and perpetually popular, but it’s always necessary for filmmakers to add a dash or two of something new to set their particular film apart from the pack. Match Me If You Can seems to think coming at a rom-com from a “nerd” perspective is just what the plot doctor ordered, but these days that point of view isn’t nearly as original or unique as the film seems to think it is. To quote a nearly decades-old episode of Parks and Recreation: “You know, ‘nerd culture’ is mainstream now. So, when you use the word “nerd” derogatorily, it means you’re the one that’s out of the zeitgeist.”
Both Reilly and Bethel do a decent job with their roles and manage decent chemistry in their madcap scenes together. But the most entertaining characters in the relatively simple story are Kip’s group of supportive co-workers who spend their off hours LARPing alongside our heroine. Brian George, Kanwar Singh, and Brad Ofoegbu are exactly the quippy, daily voices of reason and encouragment we all wish we had. They make even the clunkiest dialogue sound genuine and off the top of their head.
It’s also clear that Match Me If You Can suffers due to its lower budget. A lack of funding doesn’t necessarily translate to poorer quality films. In fact, in the right hands it can lead to considerable creativity but in the world of rom-coms, that’s hard to accomplish. It’s perhaps most noticeable here in the lack of a real, continuous film score, which has the unintentional side effect of leaving the less than stellar script hanging without emotional backup. Yeager does her best to add visual interest to make up for those missing elements of production, but on-screen texts, quick cuts, and nods to the digital world only serve to make the film feel dated.
Though not a stand-out in this well-worn genre, there’s enough in Match to entertain some truly diehard rom-com fans. But more discerning audiences would be better served revisiting more creative recent entries like Palm Springs, Always Be My Maybe, Bros or Happiest Season.
