There were quite a few reasons for wanting to see 'Matchmaker Santa'. The title was a little corny but also somewhat appetising. The idea for the story was hardly innovative but sounded cute enough. Lacey Chabert is always a likeable watch, like her voice work too, and generally one of the better prolific Hallmark leads, whether their festive efforts or in general. Have been on another one of my completest quests since November 2019, and this was part of it.
If there was one word to sum up 'Matchmaker Santa' it would be watchable. It is not a bad film, it is at least palatable, and there are things that come off well. At the same time it is not one of Hallmark's better Christmas efforts and a bit of a missed opportunity, too many of its components being average at best. Will say though that 'Matchmaker Santa' is not one of the worst either, there are worse written, acted and looking and ones that bored, annoyed and insulted the intelligence more.
Visually, 'Matchmaker Santa' looks good with it being shot and lit well and while standard the settings are lovely looking and festive at least. The film started off very nicely, with a lot of charm and warmth.
Chabert is her usual likeable and charming self, as a character with no exaggerated negative qualities without being too perfect, and carries the film with ease. She has natural chemistry with both male leads, Thad Luckinbill and Adam Mayfield match Chabert's charm and one can see their appeal. Florence Henderson's performance is not subtle but she is a lot of fun. John Ratzenberger makes the most of what he's given to work with, and he's underused.
However, the story doesn't have enough to it. Actually don't mind awfully that it was very formulaic, what bothered me was that there was very unimaginatively executed, was really not much of one at all, had some fairly contrived situations and the film gets so sweet (too much so) in places it was almost sickly. The script is similarly thin and quite routine, especially in the more eventful parts, with too much cheese and sentimentality. The chemistry between Chabert and her male leads varies, it's nice with Mayfield which has more growth but a little under-explored with Luckinbill (despite them being sweet together).
Did find that Lin Shaye overplayed to an embarrassing degree. Pacing can be a problem, with the story being too little a lot of the film crawls along and feels over-stretched. The direction is only functional at best and can be on the leaden side of things. Would have liked more development between the characters, a far less over-neat and rushed ending and especially far more subtle music. Do agree with those that found the music over-bearing and ill fitting.
Overall, watchable but pretty average. 5/10.
