Matchstick Men (2003)

A phobic con artist and his protégé are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the former's teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

Eric Garcia (book), Nicholas Griffin (screenplay) (as Nick Griffin)

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Alison Lohman, Sam Rockwell

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Roy Waller
Sam Rockwell	...	Frank Mercer
Alison Lohman	...	Angela
Bruce Altman	...	Dr. Klein
Bruce McGill	...	Chuck Frechette
Jenny O'Hara	...	Mrs. Schaffer
Steve Eastin	...	Mr. Schaffer
Beth Grant	...	Laundry Lady
Sheila Kelley	...	Kathy
Fran Kranz	...	Slacker Boyfriend
Tim Kelleher	...	Bishop
Nigel Gibbs	...	Holt
Bill Saito	...	Pharmacist #1
Tim Maculan	...	Pharmacist #2
Stoney Westmoreland	...	Man in Line

Storyline

Meet Roy and Frank, a couple of professional small-time con artists. What Roy, a veteran of the grift, and Frank, his ambitious protégé, are swindling these days are "water filtration systems," bargain-basement water filters bought by unsuspecting people who pay ten times their value in order to win bogus prizes like cars, jewelry and overseas vacations--which they never collect. These scams net the flim-flam men a few hundred here, another thousand there, which eventually adds up to a lucrative partnership. Roy's private life, however, is not so successful. An obsessive-compulsive agoraphobe with no personal relationships to call his own, Roy is barely hanging on to his wits, and when his idiosyncrasies begin to threaten his criminal productivity he's forced to seek the help of a psychoanalyst just to keep him in working order. While Roy is looking for a quick fix, his therapy begets more than he bargained for: the revelation that he has a teenage daughter--a child whose existence he...

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Plot Keywords:

criminal | con artist | flim flam | neurotic | conning a con | 

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Taglines:

lie cheat steal rinse repeat

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, violence, some sexual content and language

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los tramposos

Filming Locations:

6829 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$62,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,087,307, 14 September 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$36,906,460

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,659,212

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., ImageMovers, Scott Free Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ridley Scott's first film for Warner Bros. since Blade Runner (1982).

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Goofs

The mayonnaise on Angela's face while she's eating her burger moves and disappears at random.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Roy: Uno, due, tre.

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Crazy Credits

In the closing credits, letters such as "M" and "W" are separated lines (presumably matchsticks), much like the type in the main title.

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Connections

Referenced in Veronica Mars: Green-Eyed Monster (2005)

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Soundtracks

Antigua Capitana
Written by Johnny Martinez
Performed by Johnny Martinez
Courtesy of El Padrino Records

User Reviews

Nice change of pace for Ridley!

The latest effort from Ridley Scott equates to Spielberg's latest, Catch Me If You Can. It is a nice, technically simple film that follows their more epic, effects, and set piece driven movies preceding them. Spielberg followed Minority Report and AI, whereas Scott is following Gladiator, Hannibal and Black Hawk Down. It is a nice and welcome change of pace for a master director, as CMIYC was to Spielberg.

The film stars Nicholas Cage, who is making up for some lost years thanks to his role here and of course in Adaptation. Cage plays an obsessive compulsive con man who has an obsession of cleanliness and a fear germs and wide open spaces, and is hyped up on prescription drugs. Cage is superb here, it is a great performance, amusing and likeable. This is the sort of quirky character that brings the best out of Nic Cage. Co-starring as Cages partner in crime is the up and coming Sam Rockwell. I have been a fan of his since I first saw him in Charlie's Angels and then in his best role thus far in Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind. He was superb in Confessions and looks like he could be a top new star. Rockwell plays his character here with panache. Also starring as Cages daughter who turns up out the blue is Alison Lohman. Lohman is playing a 14 year old, who Cage has never seen and didn't know of at the start of the film. Lohman is much older in real life and so playing a 14 year is something she can do well but with the maturity and actress of that actual age may not have. Lohman is a lovely presence, she is charming and sweet and endearing to the audience, she is also a good young actress.

The film is funny, charming and simplistic. It doesn't tax too much and is a quick and pleasant, much like junk food, only more good for you. I love it when Scott does his big epic and more elaborate films but this is a good change of pace, that Scott must have really enjoyed. It is something he could do with his eyes closed compared to say Gladiator.

The film is well paced and there is a great twist that lets the film end on a real high. This is a good use of a great cast, and imaginatively edited. Overall a pleasing viewing. ****