Matchmaking 2 (2024)

Matchmaking 2 (2024). 1h 50m

“A common problem with movies about strict Orthodox Jews is that a conventional boy-meets-girl love story doesnu0026#39;t fit in. Boys and girls in that community donu0026#39;t just casually meet and hang out together. So the original u0026quot;Matchmakingu0026quot; movie was about arranged marriages but emphasized that they arenu0026#39;t arranged without the consent of both prospective spouses. Itu0026#39;s not wild weekend romps, but itu0026#39;s enough for a scriptwriter to work with.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNear the beginning of this sequel, we see a young man and woman who (along with other Orthodox Jews) are confined for a day at the airport because they arrived too late to make it home before the start of the Sabbath. And the boy falls in love with the girl, which is the movie mistake I mentioned at the start here. We donu0026#39;t see them spend enough one-on-one time together for falling in love. A shortcut that movies often take to help us accept a quick-starting love story is a breathtakingly pretty actress; but the actress in this case isnu0026#39;t breathtaking by movie standards. Iu0026#39;d say the girl whou0026#39;s supposedly less desirable is far prettier (although my wife disagrees). Once over that hurdle, though, the movie strikes an enjoyable balance between bringing back what audiences liked about the original movie and boosting interest with new material. Thereu0026#39;s a lot of humor, and wise points are made about recognizing whatu0026#39;s important in the choices we make and what isnu0026#39;t.”