One Perfect Match

I love Merritt Patterson and I have since I saw her in her first Hallmark Christmas movie. At this point, she is also one of the few really good actresses for either Hallmark or Great American Family that is still young enough to do a "first love" romance. She has a presence on screen. So it is painful to me to give this move less than a glowing review, but for reasons I will explain, it wasn't because of her.

The movie is dominated by a theme and a tone. The theme is ethics. The tone is awkwardness. The former leads to the latter.

Ethics really dominates the movie. It is mentioned often and when not explicitly mentioned it shows up in the relationships through body language and fitful speech. A lot of stuttering or fitful speech. I think that Patterson and Joshua Sasse could have had chemistry, but they had to play so much of the movie with the awkward tension between them that it was hard to see chemistry.

As to ethics, normally the idea of the matchmaker dating a client wouldn't bother me. But the specific situation here made it a problem. It led to deception between Lucy and Molly, Finn and Molly, and to a certain extent between Finn and Lucy. Trust is important in a general sense for each of those relationships. Certainly, Molly needs to be able to trust Lucy due to the dynamic of client and matchmaker. Trust is also important for any dating relationship.

The acting was mostly good. The dialogue had some good moments but was mostly average. Like so many movies on this network, the background music is not background enough. It is noticeable at times.

The story was a big problem. I've already explained a few reasons. Also, this movie reminds me of another on a rival network not long ago but I don't remember the name or the stars. The development is very similar. The story lacks any great highs or lows or surprises. It is very predictable from the mini-surprise at the vineyard to the end. One slightly unusual aspect is that the only conflict or tension is obvious almost from the beginning. There isn't really a conflict moment just before the climax.

I think there are a couple of positive stars added to bring my rating up to mediocre just because of Merritt Patterson.

Great American Family (GAF) struck it out of the ballpark with this movie!!! The actors/actresses were absolutely amazing! This is not a movie that you can just listen to, it has to be watched, and watched closely. The reason is due to all of the subtle expressions that cross the main characters faces. Wonderful - Enrapturing!! My wife and I were captivated by what was said in these expressions! The supporting cast were fantastic too!! I agree with another poster who said there should be some awards for this movie! And to the person who commented on GAF "holy rollers". Let me just say that these "holy rollers" created an exceptional and heart warming movie that transcends political correctness!!! Kudos GAF and please continue creating such wonderful movies with exceptional actors and actresses!!! I also agree with another poster who pointed out the benefit of the characters reading their own texts! Loved it! You really can't go wrong by watching this movie, just watch it closely!

Some of the romances by Hallmark or GAF feature couples that have little chemistry. Sometimes that is due to the story, which features antagonism or an oil-an-water connection that gradually grows into love. Other times, there just is no spark between the two stars. This film, on the other hand, features a story where there is chemistry between the two leads immediately, and for reasons of plot the couple cannot act on it.

Lucy Marks (Merritt Patterson) runs a match-making service and is dedicated to her job. Ironically, she herself has no one special in her life. When she meets Finn Grayson (Joshua Sasse), a businessman whose family owns a vineyard, there is an instant spark. When he engages her to find him a match, she has mixed feelings, but ethics require her to separate business and personal interests.

As mentioned, the story focuses on the easy attraction between the two, giving the viewer a love story different from many others. The final outcome is never in doubt, of course, but it's all about the dance.

I've loved Joshua Sasse since "Galavant" and Merritt Patterson is plenty reliable, but this movie underperforms. The pacing is painfully slow -- basically 100 minutes of "I like him but he's my client and I can't date him!" and him not liking his date but not having the spine to say so. The acting from the supporting players is weak and the direction is plodding. And as is typical of GAF movies, the whole thing screams cheap. The guy is the owner of a big hedge fun but he has no papers on his desk? She's a famous matchmaker with a huge client base but has a dinky office and only one assistant? I honestly don't know why this garners so much praise, aside from the holy rollers at GAF in jubilation over a movie that doesn't dare divert from a white cisgender model.

Great move. Great casting. Great chemistry. Loved this movie! The storyline was typical but so well written and the main character calling himself Gray, and having the high power job with the suits and the general demeanor gave me fifty shades vibes in a very PG rated way. Merritt Patterson is ALWAYS a pleasure to watch in anything she does and the chemistry between these two was off the charts from their very first run in within minutes of the movie starting. You could feel it jumping off the screen. Again kudos to the writing of this film, we need more of this stuff on our screens! The vineyard where they filmed was STUNNING also. A++ all around!!