James Chamberlin

The other night I had the opportunity to watch a movie called Matchstick Men. I remember hearing a little bit about it when it originally came out in theaters, but I don’t recall seeing a whole lot of press. But it’s now airing on cable and is obviously out on DVD now.

The film’s biggest star is Nicholas Cage, who I am a big fan of. He plays a con artist (aka matchstick man) with a business partner (played by Sam Rockwell). The two seem to only do one or two particular cons, nothing too crazy, but they’re obviously successful at it. Cage’s character, Roy Waller, reminds me of Adrian Monk. He’s got a lot of those same ticks Monk does, so I feel oddly comfortable watching Roy.

I’m trying not to spoil very much of the movie in the chance that you’ve not seen the film. But a lot of the plot revolves around the fact that Roy fathered a child but never knew of its fate because he and his then-wife split up and went their separate ways.

Once he meets his daughter (now 14), it really throws a wrench into the mix. Roy not only has to worry about his business, but keep her safe and away from it. Again, I’m not going to spoil anything, but the huge plot twist is incredible. It hit me like a ton of bricks.

Wow, what a great movie. If you haven’t seen this, I recommend at least renting it. I was really impressed by it. It was directed by Ridley Scott, who was responsible for a personal favorite, Gladiator.

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