The Con is On
Matchstick Has Some Fire

The story of Matchstick Men is one part comedy, one part drama, and one part con. The surprise, for the audience, is discovering the likable criminal in Roy (Nicolas Cage).

The story, simply, is of two con men. One is the brains of the operation and hopelessly neurotic. The other is his young and eager partner Frank (Sam Rockwell), a small time con waiting for the chance to pull a big score. Set in modern day, but with a flair of 1960s lounge chic, Matchstick Men has a bit of savoir faire. Despite all the quirks displayed by Roy and and his protégé, these men are polished and sure when they are working. Watching them set up a con is like watching a perfectly executed double-play. There's a reason why they're called con "artists."

But all is not well in Roy's world, and when he accidentally flushes his medication down the garbage disposal he has to go see a psychiatrist (something he tries to avoid) to get some more. The psychiatrist (Bruce Altman) is more interested in getting to the root of Roy's problem than prescribing pills. Before Roy knows it, he's telling the doctor his greatest fears and weaknesses, especially his regrets regarding his ex-wife and the child he never saw born.

The doctor arranges for Roy to meet his daughter, a cute 14-year-old named Angela (Alison Lohman). Soon Roy is caught up in a juggling act as he tries to manage his "business" and make time for the new daughter in his life. When he and Frank decide to con a businessman (Bruce McGill) in a "long con," the energy of the film really steps up a notch.

While Ridley Scott's direction of the film is flawless, the story suffers from too much misdirection. The story never seems to decide if it is a comedy or a drama, which is a shame because the drama is so compelling. While Roy's quirks are humorous to a certain degree, in the hands of another director the attention to relationships could have come through more. As a movie about con men, it has one of those predictable endings that I saw coming a quarter of the way through the movie.

The acting in the film is superb. Cage and Rockwell play off each other with excellent timing. Lohman is a cute Lolita-esque figure, but she doesn't quite fit the roll of a daughter to Cage. Angela's flirtatious tomboy appearance is distracting at times, as she seems likely to seduce Roy.

While Matchstick Men is an interesting movie, it's nothing that can't wait for rental. The acting is great, but the overall story is not worth the cost of two tickets.

MY RATING: 6 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 116 min.