Nicolas Cage has made a lot of mediocre movies in recent years. He has been plagued by a combination of weak directors, weak supporting casts, a tendency to overact and a slew of bad choices. In his last outing, \Adaptation,"" he reversed all those trends and delivered a great performance in a very good movie. ""Matchstick Men"" bucks some of the unfortunate trends of Cage's career while unabashedly repeating others. The result is a flawed but ultimately worthwhile movie.
The movie centers on Roy Waller (Cage), an obsessive-compulsive con artist. The movie follows his day-to-day criminal activities with partner Frank (Sam Rockwell, ""Confessions of a Dangerous Mind""), as he struggles through his many ticks and neuroses. As he enters therapy and plans a big scam with Frank, his life changes with the entrance of his daughter Angela (Alison Lohman, ""White Oleander""), a rambunctious 14-year-old, whom Roy has never met. The movie follows Roy's career as he progresses through therapy and learns to be a father.
What ultimately makes the movie a worthwhile exercise is that it is entertaining. Cage's performance is superficial and showy, but his overacting is paired with an intensity and dedication that at times enhances the humor. Director Ridley Scott (""Gladiator"") has fun with the story, occasionally over-stylizing the movie but generally keeping it light, breezy and fun.
Without question, though, it is the supporting cast that steals the show. Rockwell lights up the screen in every one of his scenes. He delivers the perfect blend of humor and confidence to complement Cage's much more uptight character. Perhaps even more impressive is Lohman. A 24-year-old actress playing a 14-year-old should not work, but it does. She perfectly captures the mannerisms and looks of a younger girl, creating a self-assured and astonishingly effective performance.
What does not always work quite so well is the story itself. The writing is strong in the details of the characters and dialogue, but the overall tone and pace of the story is uneven. The structure feels unbalanced in a way that leads to unfortunate trends, such as Rockwell's depleted role during the middle act of the movie. The ending is also a travesty. Aside from spoiling what is mostly a pretty straightforward movie, the ending feels like four badly chosen endings played out one after the other.
But while the ending is frustrating, what is left is still a pretty decent movie; one that is unpretentious and light, while at the same time not diving headfirst into the realm of excessive violence or skin. ""Matchstick Men"" is far from perfect, but it is a welcome addition to Cage's recent work and it is certainly a worthwhile way to spend an afternoon, as opposed to something like ""Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.\
