Matchstick Men MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 Content: -2

In this crime drama, professional con men Roy Waller (Nicolas Cage) and Frank Mercer (Sam Rockwell) sell water filters to unsuspecting people who pay ten times their value in order to win bogus prizes, which they never collect. Roy is the veteran and Frank his protg. Roy, an obsessive-compulsive agoraphobic, has no personal relationships and is on his way to losing his wits. Frank is patient and encouraging. While Roy is looking for a quick fix by way of pills, he discovers that he is the father to a 14-year-old girl (Alison Lohman) who wants to meet her father. Angelas appearance initially disrupts her fathers neurotic life, but Roy begins to enjoy the new relationship with his daughter until she begins to take an interest in his dubious career.

Roy feels no remorse or guilt for cheating people out of their money until he meets his daughter. Still, he shows her how to con people but then tells her to give the money back because keeping it would be immoral. Her involvement in the heists will certainly make some parents uncomfortable. There appears to be no good parenting in Angelas life. Roy eventually begins to regret his lifestyle so much that he quits the business. There is a discussion on the morals of conning people. In a short strip-club scene, women are seen in thongs and bikini tops. While this film somewhat glamorizes the con artist, it also shows the downside of feeling guilt over the act and fear of revenge by those being conned. Because of bad language, bad morals and some sexual content, Matchstick Men earns an unacceptable approval rating.

Preview Reviewer: Alan Boyer
Distributor: Warner Brothers