American-Jewish actor and comedian Michael Rapaport is traveling to Israel this week to take a role in Matchmaking 3, the third installment of Erez Tadmor’s hugely successful Matchmaking films, which are comedies about dating in the ultra-Orthodox world.
Rapaport has become an outspoken advocate for Israel and against antisemitism since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023. He has visited Israel often during these years, meeting with hostage families and drawing attention to their plight, and has appeared on the Israeli comedy show, Eretz Nehederet, twice.
The new movie reunites the franchise’s central cast, including Maor Schweitzer and Niv Sultan (who also stars in Tehran), who are married in real life, and Irit Kaplan, and continues their stories.
Its hero is Baruch Auerbach (Schweitzer), a young ultra-Orthodox matchmaker from Bnei Brak, who is determined to give himself and Ruth (Sultan) the lavish wedding of their dreams, despite having no way to pay for it. Searching for cash, Baruch is tempted by an offer from Michael Gerstel, a wealthy ultra-Orthodox billionaire from New York, who will be played by Rapaport.
Gerstel promises him a huge sum in exchange for arranging a match for his daughter. Baruch’s journey to New York presents him with a world of money, power, and manipulation, which puts his relationship, values, and identity to the test, as he weighs ambition and wealth against true love.
Matchmaking series a phenomenon with hundreds of thousands of viewers
The Matchmaking series has become a phenomenon, drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers – both secular and religious – who embraced the movie’s humor and fell in love with the characters. Even at the height of the war, Matchmaking 2 brought hundreds of thousands into movie theaters. While the movies are mainly comic, they also look at serious issues, such as how people with special needs are viewed in ultra-Orthodox society, and feature an Arab character, Achmad (Hitham Omari), who runs the yeshiva kitchen and dispenses wise advice to the lovelorn young men who study there.
In addition to Rapaport, Matchmaking 3 adds several prominent Israeli actors, including Yadin Gellman, who starred in Image of Victory and Arugam Bay, and who is a Special Forces soldier who was wounded on October 7 while fighting in Kibbutz Be’eri; comedian Moshe Ashkenazi, who previously collaborated with Tadmor on Wounded Land; and Naya Bienstock, who recently appeared in The German and Black Space.
The third film in the series marks a milestone: It’s the first full movie trilogy in Israel since the Abba Ganuv films, the last of which was made 35 years ago.
Filming will take place in Israel and New York. The screenplay was written by Tadmor twith Hava Divon, Sarel Piterman, and Sharon Maymon. The film is being produced by Reisdor Productions, headed by Yaki Reisner, alongside United King Films, led by Moshe Edery and Leon Edery, in cooperation with Comeback Films and Zoa Films.
Yaki Reisner, the owner of Reisdor Productions, said, “I am very excited to begin filming Matchmaking 3. This is no longer just a series of films, but an Israeli phenomenon, and after the first two films became box-office hits, we are entering this production with great responsibility and with a genuine desire to bring audiences a new, precise, and surprising film. The third film in the series continues the line the audience loves, but delivers a sweeping story, sharp comedy, and moments of emotion and surprises we have not encountered until now. We will return to the familiar characters, while at the same time placing them in new situations that reveal sides of them we haven’t seen and expand the film experience. I am proud of this production, of the creators, the actors, and the professional crew, all of us with one clear goal: to bring the public a big Israeli feature film.”
Matchmaking 3 is slated for release later this year and will be distributed by United King Films.