‘Match Me If You Can’ Review – A Charming Romantic Comedy With Compelling Leads [DIFF 2023]

Love in the social media age and dating apps can be complicated. You could miss out on true love with one wrong click, swipe, or misinterpreting of a message. Choosing to navigate this digital minefield in search of a meaningful relationship can leave many feeling rejected. One such misunderstanding leads to intelligent, quirky workaholics finding each other in the wildly entertaining romantic comedy, Match Me If You Can.

Kip (Georgina Reilly) is an innovative, quirky computer nerd who cosplays zombie apocalypse scenarios with her friends after work. Then, on a whim, she decides to sign up for the dating app, iPromise, to try to find love. Unfortunately for her, according to the app, she turns out to be unmatchable. She exposes this on social media, leading to her going viral and becoming a whistleblower for the sham of online dating. Although the experience brings her internet fame, it also forces her to face her genuine fears of being alone and unlovable.

Riley (Wilson Bethel) is the creator of iPromise and finds himself and his family in hot water when Kip’s rant about being unmatchable goes viral. However, he finds himself drawn to Kip when he meets her under false pretenses, and the two begin to form a relationship that brings out the best of both of them. Nevertheless, Riley continues to court Kip under a false identity, with her and his family unaware of his actions.

This film was such a joy to watch from beginning to end. Reilly and Bethel are captivating to watch from beginning to end because of their masterful portrayals of two good-hearted, dorky people who want to find true love. The actors have palpable chemistry with one another, and it helps sell the film’s concept. It’s believable that Riley would hide his identity from her after meeting and connecting with Kip during a hilarious situation involving an airborne blowfish. Both bring a lot of heart, vulnerability, and talent to their portrayals. Something is endearing and magnetic about this pairing, and you hope to see these two actors again in another romantic comedy.

The supporting cast isn’t too bad, either. Kip’s work friends: Meta (Brian George), LB (Brad Ofoegbu), and Sanjay (Kanwar Singh), act as her comedic but loving confidants as she takes on iPromise and what she believes is their faulty business practices and promises. Riely’s family and company consist of his mother (Jennifer Griffin), father (Mark A. Hernandez), brother (Billy Armstrong), and brother-in-law (Phillip Jordan).  There’s also his adorable litter sister, Sarah (Ava Torres).

The ensemble characters are used wisely here and help push the story forward in believable ways that fit the plot and narrative. One fascinating subplot involves Armstrong’s character hiding his sexuality and husband to be the face of his brother’s company. The tension this adds is organic and feels realistic. While this is something that we would have loved to have seen expanded upon, it makes sense as to why it does not get much focus. There is also natural tension coming from the fact that Riely employs his entire family. When family and business mix, where is the line drawn? There’s a confrontation at one point in the film during which Riley compares his familial employees to the former employers that made him leave his corporate job. This realistic point of contention gives the movie stakes other than if the two leads get together or not.

Overall, Match Me If You Can, is a layered, comedic, and emotional romantic comedy about two good people trying to find love in the digital age. Checking out a profile online is excellent, but it doesn’t replace the authenticity of actual human connection.

Match Me If You Can made its World Premiere at the 2023 Dallas International Film Festival in the Texas Feature Competition category.

Director: Marian Yeager

Screenwriter: Betsy Morris