MATCH ME IF YOU CAN – A Review by Jenn Rohm
As humans, we all need to take a break from the world on occasion. Every person has their own way of doing this. Personally, reading a book or watching a movie are my top picks. Depending on the state of the world the level of escapism needed impacts how far from reality I go. I found my new favorite light escape romcom in Match Me If You Can.
In doing my research on the film and learning the story of how it was made along with my opportunity to view it when I did, the universe knew what it was doing. Betsy Morris tells the story of a friend that completed all the application questions for a major dating site only to be rejected. Being a creative individual with a large heart, Betsy was initially offended on behalf of her amazing friend. Then the gears started turning and the idea for a story took root. Upon completion, she submitted the script to the Austin Film Festival. This submission took on its own adventure and the tale itself has a trademarked name. (I do hope that means another script is coming.)
With MY Productions’ Monica Lund and Marian Yeager, this story made it to production. They experienced setbacks due to the Covid shutdown and casting changes happened. Originally the lead female was to be portrayed by Aimee Garcia known for her role as Ella on Lucifer. Production finally began on November 1, 2021, and on December 11, 2021, the film was complete.
The Dallas Independent Film Festival 2023 added the film to the Texas Category, which provided me the opportunity to view the film. Match Me If You Can, is the story of computer coder Kip Parsons (Georgina Reilly), while comfortable with her life, decides to try for more and completes an application for an online dating app. While it is a popular site that “promises” to match everyone, she receives a rejection notice. Of course, being the computer-focused person she is, she writes a blog entry about the experience thinking only the handful of people she knows read her site will see it. It only took one person sharing the entry for the situation to blow up into larger proportions. Of course, the company denies that its system sends rejection notices. With the support of her friends/co-workers Meta (Brian George), Sanjay (Kanwar Singh), and LB (Brad Ofoegbu), Kip stands up for herself. The staff of the app happens to be the Detamore family. Riley (Wilson Bethel) started the business and handles coding, his brother Dirk (Billy Armstrong) is the face, while their parents Ivy (Jennifer Griffin) and Phil (Mark A Hernandez) make the hard decisions.
Having conversations that involve Chewbacca, movie posters in their living spaces, and watches set via atomic time are things that could happen in my life. The bits that make up the personalities of the characters added to my enjoyment of the film. One of the core principles of MY Productions is making “little films with a lot of heart”. They really have done so with this one.
I do wonder if there will be an ability to purchase Match Me If You Can and if it will include a wind-up toy. This is a movie I want to have in my personal collection so I can watch it when I need a light escape that leaves me with a smile on my face and hope in my heart.
Director: Marian Yeager
Written By: Betsy Morris
Cast: Georgina Reilly, Wilson Bethel, Brian George
Genres: Comedy Romance
Selig Rating: 5 stars
Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well there was nothing else …
1 Star – Total waste of time.
