Matchstick Men

I've gotta wonder sometimes why so many modern films are about the characters, and not about the story. I know, it's the common gripe about how story doesn't seem to matter to Hollywood anymore, but hey, they're doing the same thing in Britain and India, too. I'm beginning to think it's universal. Not that this film doesn't have a fun storyline, because it does -- a fun, funny grifter flick that's not ultra-snide or ultra-deep -- it's just that you're meant to focus on the stars. Nicolas Cage, Alison Lohman, the incomparable, but sadly one-note Sam Rockwell (where are roles for him like in Lawn Dogs or Confessions of a Dangerous Mind?). What could be better!? I guess that's what the public wants now, a little bit more royalty to ooh and aah over, but we're giving up substance for flash. The characterizations are great (Lohman, who is 24, plays a 14-year-old with conviction with a capital C), but that ends up being what the film is based on. Pity.

year: 2003
length: 116 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325805/combined