A Strong Match

Throughout "Matchstick Men," I couldn't help but feel I had seen a lot of this before, but from so many different movies that this film actually comes out original. One can't watch Nicolas Cage's OCD for a minute without conjuring images of Jack Nicholson and his sterile plastic utensils in "As Good as it Gets." If you saw "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" then you've already seen Sam Rockwell act as "the cool one." And Alison Lohman is given the often-attempted, rarely-accomplished task of trying to out-Tatum Tatum O’Neal from "Paper Moon." We've seen it before, yet is it about being the first or being the best? "Matchstick Men" is one of the best movies of the year, at least before the Oscar contenders take the stage.

Cage plays a con man who has the aforementioned OCD and Tourette's, and through meeting with a psychologist finds it's time to admit he also has a 14-year-old daughter. If you want to know why actors don't like films with kid parts it may be less about youth's lack of maturity and more about their ability to show up their elders. Once Alison Lohman graces the screen, there isn't a nervous tic in the world that can outplay her knowing smile. Cage puts his con man career further and further in jeopardy the more he becomes attached to her and we're curious to watch him choose between the life that's rewarded him monetarily and another that might truly cure what ails him.

Sam Rockwell's character, Cage's partner, is the one weak link in the film because he feels more like someone for Cage to play off of than a person in his own right. Regardless, he is key to a twist near the end which leaves you with a grin on your face and the ultimate three-word movie-going phrase: "I shoulda known." (Reviewer's con—Alison Lohman is 24 years old in real life!)

3 1/2 Stars

- by Eric Butterman