A Perfect Pairing

Last updated
A Perfect Pairing
A Perfect Pairing film poster.jpg
Official release poster
Directed byStuart McDonald
Written by
  • Elizabeth Hackett
  • Hilary Galanoy
Produced by
  • Deborah Evans
  • Hilary Galanoy
  • Deborah Glover
  • Elizabeth Hackett
  • Nathan Mayfield
  • Tracey Robertson
  • Robyn Snyder
  • Fernando Szew
  • Tracey Vieira
Starring
CinematographyBen Nott
Music by Nerida Tyson-Chew
Production
companies
  • DAE Light Media
  • Front Row Films
  • Hoodlum Entertainment
Distributed by Netflix
Release date
  • May 19, 2022 (2022-May-19)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Perfect Pairing is a 2022 American romantic comedy film. The film follows the story of Lola, an LA-based wine executive. Stuart McDonald directs the film and Victoria Justice stars as Lola while Adam Demos appears as Max. The film was released on May 19, 2022, on Netflix. The film is described as a fun watch made for lovers of wine and girlboss success stories. [1]

Contents

Plot

LA-based wine executive Lola feels underappreciated by her boss Calder at Mythos, who pays no attention to her ideas. A chef, knowing of her frustration, introduces her to a little-known wine of an Australian company which has yet to go international.

Lola secretly tells her workmate Audra about the Vaughn winery, who then pitches them to their boss behind Lola's back. So, she starts up her own company and flies to Australia to secure a potential client.

Initially signing up for their AirBNB accommodation, Lola immediately tries to pitch Hazel, who quickly turns her down. Discovering they are short a hired hand, she volunteers to work on the client's sheep farm under station boss Max to prove her moxie.

Thrown into the manual labor, Lola's workmates haze her, and she oversteps with excessively long showers and blowing the circuit breaker. She learns to mend fences, to not mix differently tagged sheep, to load a manure spreader but after five days she has given up.

Max's truck breaks down on the way into town to catch a flight. So, on returning to the farm, Max tells Lola she shouldn't give up. As she has the night to mull it over, she is inspired by a book about the farm's matriarch. Lola fixes the hot water heater, and gradually earns the trust of her fellow hired hands.

Lola finally participates in the 'hands' evening gathering, showing she has a good singing voice. After a day, she finally helps with shearing, at night she invited into the family's pool by Max. Later, over a game of pool, he and Hazel discuss Lola's proposal to export with her company, revealing that Max is Hazel's brother.

Lola and Max visit the Vaughn vineyard and then camp overnight. After a tour and fence-mending together, that night they finally show their feelings to one another. The next morning, Max reveals the secret that he is a Vaughn, his sister's silent partner, upsetting Lola. Feeling betrayed, she returns to the sheep farm, discovers her former boss and Audra negotiating with Hazel to sign a contract to import Vaughn wines to the US. Calder tries to lure her back, but she is unwavering.

Months later, Lola is back in California, working with Audra again with her tiny wine distribution company. Max appears at Lola's wine expo stand, declares his feelings and that his winery has dropped Calder's company for hers and that he wants to be with her. They reconcile and return to Australia to celebrate Station Hand Sam's wedding.

Cast

A Perfect Pairing follows the story of Lola, a wine executive, portrayed by Victoria Justice. Victoria Justice 2010 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (cropped).jpg
A Perfect Pairing follows the story of Lola, a wine executive, portrayed by Victoria Justice.

Production

The film was shot in Queensland, Australia and was produced by Hoodlum Entertainment in collaboration with Screen Australia. The film was supported by the City of Gold Coast and the filmmakers worked closely with the Animal Protection Agency to safeguard the animals featured in the film. In credits, the producers acknowledge the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh language region, in which the film was shot. [3] The screenwriters, Hilary Galanoy and Elizabeth Hackett have teamed up before in Falling Inn Love and Love, Guaranteed . [4]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 50% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5/10. [5] Film critic Aurora Amidon wrote that the film contains the hallmarks of a successful Hallmark film. She described Lola as a "refreshingly inspirational female character". [2] The film shares its title with a Hallmark film, ("The Perfect Pairing") that was released earlier the same year. [6] The scene of singalong to "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet is characterized as visual panache. [7] Screen Rant reviewed the film as it may not "stand out to most but its aura is enough to warrant a watch." [8] The film received some criticism as well. Natasha Alvar wrote the conversations are a "snooze fest" and minor characters are not very interesting. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Run Lola Run</i> 1998 film by Tom Tykwer

Run Lola Run is a 1998 German experimental thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer. The story follows a woman named Lola who needs to obtain 100,000 Deutschmarks in twenty minutes to save the life of her boyfriend Manni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melissa McCarthy</span> American actress (born 1970)

Melissa Ann McCarthy is an American actress, screenwriter, and producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. McCarthy was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016, and she has been featured multiple times in annual rankings of the highest-paid actresses in the world. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her #22 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.

<i>Made</i> (2001 film) 2001 comedy/crime film by Jon Favreau

Made is a 2001 American crime comedy film written, directed and co-produced by Jon Favreau. It stars Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Peter Falk, and Sean Combs. It was both Favreau's feature directorial debut and Combs acting debut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Justice</span> American actress and singer (born 1993)

Victoria Dawn Justice is an American actress and singer. She has received several accolades, including two Young Artist Awards, one Bravo Otto and nominations for three Imagen Awards, an NAACP Image Award, and three Kids' Choice Awards.

<i>Bandidas</i> 2006 Western action comedy film

Bandidas is a 2006 Western action comedy film starring Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz directed by Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg and produced and written by Luc Besson. It tells the tale of two very different women in late-19th-century Mexico who become a bank robbing duo in an effort to combat a ruthless enforcer terrorizing their town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torrey DeVitto</span> American actress (born 1984)

Torrey Joël DeVitto is an American actress and former fashion model. Her first starring role was as Karen Kerr on the ABC Family drama series Beautiful People (2005–2006). She followed this up with recurring roles as Carrie in The CW drama series One Tree Hill (2008–2009), as Melissa Hastings in the ABC Family/Freeform mystery drama series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017), and as Dr. Meredith Fell in The CW fantasy drama series The Vampire Diaries (2012–2013). DeVitto went on to star as Maggie Hall in the final season of Lifetime's drama series Army Wives (2013) and as Dr. Natalie Manning in the NBC medical drama series Chicago Med (2015–2021).

<i>Shaun the Sheep</i> British childrens television series

Shaun the Sheep is a stop-motion animated silent comedy children's television series which is developed by Aardman Animations. A spin-off in the Wallace and Gromit franchise, the series focuses on the adventures of Shaun, the eponymous sheep previously starring in A Close Shave, as the leader of his flock on a English farm. The series premiered on 5 March 2007 on CBBC in the UK, also airing on BBC Two. Since 2020, the series is streamed globally on Netflix. In March 2024, it was announced that the seventh series is in development and will premiere in 2025. With 170 episodes over 6 series, Shaun the Sheep is one of the longest-running animated series in British television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lola Álvarez Bravo</span> Mexican photographer (1903–1993)

Lola Álvarez Bravo was the first Mexican female photographer and a key figure in the post-revolution Mexican renaissance. Known for her high level of skill in composition, her works were seen by her peers as fine art. She was recognized in 1964 with the Premio José Clemente Orozco, by the State of Jalisco, for her contributions to photography and her efforts to preserve the culture of Mexico. Her works are included in the permanent collections of international museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosie Huntington-Whiteley</span> British model (born 1987)

Rosie Alice Huntington-Whiteley is an English model and actress. She is best known for her work for lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret, formerly being one of their brand "Angels", for being the face of Burberry's 2011 brand fragrance Burberry Body, for her work with Marks & Spencer, and, most recently, for her artistic collaboration with denim-focused fashion brand Paige.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Ruth Prabhu</span> Indian actress (born 1987)

Samantha Ruth Prabhu is an Indian actress who works primarily in Telugu and Tamil films. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two Nandi Awards, four Filmfare Awards South, six SIIMA Awards and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award.

<i>Perfect Sense</i> 2011 film by David Mackenzie

Perfect Sense is a 2011 science fiction romantic drama film directed by David Mackenzie, written by Kim Fupz Aakeson and starring Eva Green and Ewan McGregor. In the film, a chef (McGregor) and a scientist (Green) fall in love as an epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions.

<i>Some Kind of a Nut</i> 1969 film by Garson Kanin, Walter Mirisch

Some Kind of a Nut is a 1969 American comedy film written and directed by Garson Kanin and starring Dick Van Dyke, Angie Dickinson and Rosemary Forsyth.

You Lucky Dog is a 2010 American-Canadian made-for-TV film starring Natasha Henstridge, Harry Hamlin and Anthony Lemke.

Samantha Boscarino is an American actress from Ventura County, California. She is known for the film The Clique, for her role as Molly Garfunkel on the Nickelodeon series How to Rock, Skyler in ‘’Good Luck Charlie’’ (2010-2014), and for her lead role as Ellie Davis in the 2016 television film The Cheerleader Murders.

Skylar Christan "Skye" Townsend is an American actress and singer. She has released two EPs, Vomit (2012) and Rocking Chairs (2015). Townsend joined the main cast of A Black Lady Sketch Show in 2021.

<i>Seconds</i> (comics) 2014 graphic novel by Bryan Lee OMalley

Seconds is a graphic novel by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Published on July 15, 2014, by Ballantine Books, the novel tells the story of Katie Clay, head chef at a prospering restaurant named Seconds, who obtains the ability to fix her past mistakes by writing them down in a notebook, eating a mushroom, and falling asleep. Abusing the power to make her life perfect, Katie ends up creating more problems for herself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lola Kirke</span> English-born American actress and singer-songwriter

Lola Clementine Kirke is a British-American actress and singer-songwriter. She starred in the 2015 film Mistress America and the Amazon Studios television series Mozart in the Jungle. She appeared in Gone Girl (2014), Gemini (2017), and Lost Girls (2020) among other films. Recent work includes HBO's Winning Time (2022) and upcoming Starz limited series Three Women.

Karen Pittman is an American actress. She had recurring roles in The Americans and Luke Cage before starring as Mia Jordan in the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show (2019–present) and as Dr. Nya Wallace in the HBO Max comedy-drama, And Just Like That... (2021–2023).

Adam Demos is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as August Walker on the American television series Unreal and Brad in the Netflix series Sex/Life.

References

  1. ↑ Nungesser, Samantha (29 May 2022). "'A Perfect Pairing'". Decider.com . NYP Holdings, Inc. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 Amidon, Aurora (24 May 2022). "'A Perfect Pairing' Has All the Notes of a Feel-Good Time". filmschoolrejects.com. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  3. ↑ Lennon, Mads (16 May 2022). "Where was A Perfect Pairing filmed?". netflixlife.com. FanSided . Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  4. ↑ Moore, Roger (21 May 2022). "Netflixable? "A Perfect Pairing" is Vintage Victoria Justice". Movie Nation. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "A Perfect Pairing". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved August 28, 2022. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  6. ↑ Kenny, Glenn (18 May 2022). "'A Perfect Pairing' Review: Going Down Under for Wine and Romance". The New York Times . Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  7. ↑ Howard, Courtney (18 May 2022). "'A Perfect Pairing' Review: Victoria Justice and Adam Demos Blend Sweet, Smoky Tasting Notes Into A Light-Bodied Rom-Com". Variety.com. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  8. ↑ Ferdosa (20 May 2022). "A Perfect Pairing Review: Unexpectedly Delightful Rom-Com Is Slightly Hollow". Screen Rant . Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  9. ↑ Alvar, Natasha (24 May 2022). "A Perfect Pairing REVIEW – Not Very Robust". culturedvultures.com. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.