A Perfect Pairing – Movie Review

There’s nothing called the perfect match in the world – a couple in love, a geek and his device, a musician and his composition, a spin bowler and his catch and so on. But something that really pairs very well – being a foodie, I can bet you – is Wine with it’s right combo (of foods). A Perfect Pairing is not exactly a documentary on Wine tasting & pairing, rather a breezy movie about a fairly imperfect couple who eventually end up a great pair. Fairly cinematic stuff, unrealistic in life at most time. Hell yea, it’s a feel good movie after all.

Lola Alvarez (Victoria Justice) is a Sales Manager at one of the top Wine Import firms in the US and is getting ready for a promotion as a Sales Director soon. After her recent divorce, she wants to take a break before another hook-up. Celebrity Chef Hamish (Nicholas Brown) loves her knowledge of wines and gets her win a big contract for her firm and she’s about to present her newest idea to her Boss Calder (Craig Horner) in the Team Meeting. Before she does, her colleague Audra (Lucy Durack) steals her idea to present it to the Boss who’s pretty impressed and asks her to lead the account. Disheartened, Lola quits her job in the spur of the moment and decides to go behind her catch – a famous winery in far away Australia – and turns an Entrepreneur. Her father supports her decision and advices her to move to OZ to make her dream come true.

Lola ends up at the same winery’s AirBNB cottage and tries to sell her idea to Hazel Vaughn (Samantha Cain) but she refuses to tie up her company to a newbie importer who is yet to even get a license. Lola requests the boss to allow her to spend some time and work in the sheep farm. Over the next few weeks, she gets pally with her mates and close enough with the Station Bossy Max (Adam Demos) and they form a special relationship towards each other. 

During a camping night out, they get intimate even before Max tries to tell her who really is, inspired by his sister Hazel. The next day when he does open up, Lola feels upset and walks away from the relationship that was in the making as well as from OZ. That’s when Calder is in town with Audra to meet Hazel to win the American Import contract. Hazel informs Lola that her firm would prefer to work with a larger firm.

Lola is a winner with a never-give-up attitude and returns to the US and starts her firm along with former colleague Audra, giving her a second chance. During a wine show to propose her firm Salud Imports’ new offering, Max appears in front of her and appoints her firm as the official importer to the US. All is well and it’s perfect pairing as the two decide to make a relationship between them. Typical filmy stuff. 

What we see through the film is some breathtaking views of the hinterland of the continent that is a country – Australia. Some great sheep and a lone baby kangaroo. And some fantastic camaraderie between the young ones who work in the stable. Lola send in a lot of positivity in her role and also to those who seek for it. Max, on the other hand lives in a cocoon all his life, living a life that’s untrue but comes out of it when seeing how truthful Lola is – to herself and to others around her. And the film ends with a lesbian-couple marriage, one of whom works in the stable and has become a new mum recently. 

Watch the trailer here;

Directed by Stuart McDonald for Netflix, written by Elizabeth Hackett and Hillary Galanoy, Ben Nott  is the director of Photography who’s shown those stunning visuals. A good movie to catch up on a weekend or a busy weekday – it’s a feel good movie anyway!