I found "Matchstick Men" to be an enjoyable film, starring Nicolas Cage as an obsessive-compulsive con artist whose life is changed when his teenager daughter (Alison Lohman), whom he never knew existed, walks into his life. This part of the film manages to entertain well, and Lohman's rebellious yet sweet personality comes off as a very appealing character and adds enjoyment and emotion to this film. Cage starts to turn his life around as this change in his life occurs, another positive element to the film. I also enjoyed the scenes with Lohman being taught how to steal, and these parts added some bits of humor to the film. The problem with this movie, however, is the number of unnecessary plot twists that start occurring toward the end. This film has been labeled as a comedy, which is not completely true. There is much more emotion and drama than comedy in this film, which is not really a benefit here. I won't spoil the plot twists, but some of them are very strange and unusual. The film would have been better, in my opinion, if it had stuck to a simple plot rather than trying to over-complicate the events of the story. It was a sweet, entertaining film, until everything started changing. The twists do add a sense of intelligence to the film, but it would have been much better if it stayed predictable and simple. Not a total waste of time, but could have been better.
*** out of ****
*** out of ****