If you're not familiar with this show, it's on Bravo and features Patti Stanger, who proudly proclaims that she comes from a long line of matchmakers. In the first season of the show, the opening credits shouted that she had a 99% success rate. That figure has been deleted from the sequence and if you’ve ever watched the show you know why. More on that later.
First, let’s talk about the problems I have with this show.
As I have said before, ‘reality’ shows are not real.
And this show is no exception.
One constant with all reality shows is that there cameras are always present. How real can anyone be in front of a camera?
There is casting. Yes, casting. Casting for the ‘millionaires’ and casting for the dates. There are not people who simply signed up with the club. There is a casting company who solicits people to be on the show. And, if you read the fine print in the credits, the ‘millionaires’ do not pay for the services if they are on the show. The services are provided free of charge for them. Now I’m not saying that they aren’t real millionaires, but, as with virtually everything in life, if you get something for free rather than having to pay for it, don’t you act a little differently about it? And why aren’t these paying customers? Oh yeah, ‘cause the paying customers might not make for good TV so you have to go out and find those people that make for good TV.
Now, having said all of this about the production of the show, let’s talk a little about our hostess, Ms. Patti Stanger.
Stanger is a 49-year-old unmarried woman. She may come from a long line of matchmakers, but as an unmarried woman, I question her true ability to actually make real matches.
This is a little like me saying to Roger Federer, the man who holds the most tennis titles in history, ‘Hey Roger, I may not have won a tournament, but I play a little tennis so let me tell you how to win your next match.”
Ok, I can get past this issue, because I love some of the other things about Patti.
And I want to call her Patti because she seems like a friend. That kind of friend who tells it like it is, and you love her for that.
Patty is the woman who really seems to understand where men go wrong with dating. She’s right on track with just about all of her critiques. In fact, I can’t think of one instance in which I have disagreed with Patti’s assessment of a man and his dating problems.
And believe me, these men have problems.
Like the guy who had a stripper pole in his living room and couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t meet a nice girl. Or the guy who owned a trash hauling company and picked up his date with his trash truck and then made her go on a pick-up call!
Patti had some very choice words for these guys.
And Patti doesn’t save her opinion for just the guys. She’s just as stern with her female clients.
In my opinion, this is almost Must See TV for folks in the dating pool, especially men.
A very brave fellow that I worked with admitted that he watched the show religiously. Ok, he’s not so brave that he wanted me to use his name, but he told me that he learned a lot about women and dating from the show. He said that everything Patti says makes perfect sense to him.
Unfortunately, for many of the men on the show, they don’t listen to Patti at all or they listen too late. Most of the matches end after one, or sometimes, two dates. This is why the earlier mentioned season one claim of a 99% success rate may no longer be accurate.
So while I find the usual ‘reality’ show problems with “The Millionaire Matchmaker”, I won’t fault anyone for watching this series.
And while Patti Stanger may not herself be married, the woman is refreshingly honest and straightforward with her clients, trying her best to teach them the ways of the dating world.
In conclusion, I believe there’s no shame in watching “The Millionaire Matchmaker”.
Those ‘real housewives’ shows? Now that’s another story.
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