Starring: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman
Directed by: Ridley Scott

I've always wondered why people praise Nicolas Cage and his movies. The movies that I've seen him in try really hard to make Cage's characters ultra cool and slick. This usually leaves his work in a mess. But he can really surprise you sometimes, and in Matchstick Men, you get to see what this Oscar winner is capable of.

Nicolas Cage plays Roy Waller, a professional con artist in league with Frank Mercer (played by Sam Rockwell). Together they pull con jobs on anyone from poor grannies to high profile businessmen. What's great is that they do it with flair, always willing to play a role to ensure that a scam is well-executed. We all know that the real thing is nowhere as glamourous, but I enjoyed it.

This is where Nicolas Cage shines. Not only is he a con artist (or matchstick man... I don't understand it either), but he plays an obsessive-compulsive agoraphobe. It's fun to watch Cage act out his ticks and dog yelps, and go through his obssessive cleaning habits. It sets the tone well for the movie, which is twitchy and neurotic in its own way.

Things change quickly in Roy Waller's life when he discovers that he is a father and that his teenage daughter wants to meet him. Roy's initial malaise of being a con artist dad ends up being a bond between him and Angela (played by Alison Lohman). Her desire to learn the art of grifting sets up the second, and somewhat disjoint part of the movie.

This second part didn't really go over well with me. The first half was light-hearted and spastic. I liked watching Cage and Rockwell pull their grifts without skipping a beat. The second part turned grim pretty fast, as the plot suddenly becomes serious, with people's lives at stake. I just didn't find it as charming as the beginning.

But I say Matchstick Men is definitely worth a rental. Nicolas Cage's performance makes the entire plot believable, and makes you appreciate the neurotics in all our lives.

ASY
Ten