Matchmaker Mary
Tim Whitus, Director
PureFlix, 2008, 80 minutes, $19.95, Pureflix.com
While adopting a puppy, sweet sixth-grade Mary meets a couple of lovelorn singles, who each happen to adopt puppies from the same litter. Mary recruits her aunt in a scheme to match-make them and rescue her parents’ troubled marriage, using the puppies as the vehicle.
What I liked: a family-friendly movie without bad language and no body parts either overexposed or shot, chopped or blown off; a father who’s neither a doofus nor negligent; a daughter who’s respectful and caring; and three cute puppies.
What I wish was better: subpar acting; 80’s music; dialogue simplistic in some scenes, unrealistic in others; and a plot involving a 12-year-old getting friendly with strangers awkwardly fast; and managing the adults in her life. Younger kids may overlook these flaws; perhaps it’s worth it to show them a good, clean film with a positive storyline.
Did I mention the adorable puppies?
