Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be the head matchmaker for a high class dating service in Beverly Hills? In this candid and witty memoir, Marla Martenson takes you on a humorous journey through the ups and downs of her life working for such a place, as she wrestles with the often unreasonable demands of her wealthy clientele.
“Honestly, I had no idea how shallow, fussy, self-serving, and authoritative some customers can be. After six years of feedback, lawsuits, and expectations, they still surprise me every once in a while,” says Martenson. But what can you do when your clients are paying $40,000 or more to find the right woman?
The author begins by showing us what a normal day looks like for her, answering annoying emails and trying to understand the often unbelievable and unreasonable requests from her clients as they continually find fault with their precious and perfect Barbie doll dates.
After this initial glimpse into his ‘normal day’, Martenson goes back in time to tell how he got started, working in restaurants and serving rude celebrities like Joan Collins, who once barked at him for forgetting a fork. “For all my work, she left me a $2 tip on a $120 bill. The woman was clearly typecast as Alexis, right?” says the author.
She also talks about her dreams of becoming an actress, her marriage, divorce and remarriage to the perfect guy, the death of her father, and finally taking charge of her life. Eventually, it all fell into place and she began to earn good money doing commercials and getting bit parts in movies and print modeling jobs. She even got a couple of lines in the Mel Gibson movie, What Women Want. Then, finally, how she got her start as a recruiter for the dating service, looking for what she calls “a new supply of goddesses” and her life as an author, a calling she never suspected she had.
The book is full of interesting anecdotes about Martenson’s work in Hollywood with the stars. The writing is simple, direct, witty, and honest. This is the perfect fun read for the beach. I like the author’s satirical slant on the beauty and mystery of dating and relationships, as well as the shallowness of Hollywood and the pressure placed on women to look good. The book, although a light read, makes you think about society and the role of women and men in it, and explores interesting gender issues.
Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker
By Marla Martenson
Bettie Young Books (April 15, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0984308105
ISBN-13: 978-0984308101
Paperback, 272 pages
Memory
