Me And My Matchmaker

Mark Wexler is a 39-year-old, single, half-Jewish filmmaker, and the son of famed Hollywood cinematographer Haskell Wexler. Irene Nathan is a blunt, eccentric, 60-something Jewish matchmaker (and master amateur psychoanalyst) living in Chicago. A kind of street smart Dr. Laura who refers to her customers as “merchandise,” charges $400 a year to get them dates, and has spent the better part of her senior years bringing young people together, Irene Nathan boasts a sensational track record--200 marriages; 2 divorces. When Wexler sets out to make a documentary film about Nathan's dating service, the story seems pre-ordained: we'll follow a few couples to see if she's worth her salt, right? Wrong! Suddenly, half-Jewish Mark begins to date some of Irene's clients on the side, filming them and interviewing them along the way, leading to Irene's discomfort and later anger. Initially, Irene's reactions seem to stem from professional or religious reasons, but eventually it becomes clear that she and Mark are having some kind of off-camera romance. I found myself sitting forward. Now this was getting interesting. What started as a documentary about Great Expectations had transitioned into 20 Dates, and then suddenly lurched disconcertingly into a cross between Fatal Attraction and Harold and Maude! A filmmaker's relationship with his subjects and audience should be one of complete honesty, but this film is fraught with a fascinating hypocrisy that--ironically--only serves to make it more human, absolutely riveting, and undeniably disturbing as well. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Ray)