Matchstick Men (2003)
78%RT Audience Score: 74%
Awards & Nominations: 5 nominations
Breezy and well-acted, Matchstick Men focuses more on the characters than on the con
Matchstick Men is like a game of Jenga, where the tension builds and builds until the final twist knocks everything down. Nicholas Cage gives a standout performance as a con man with a heart, and the supporting cast is equally strong. It’s a movie that keeps you guessing until the very end, and even then, you’ll be left wondering if you missed something. Plus, who doesn’t love a good con movie? It’s like Ocean’s Eleven, but with more emotional depth and fewer abs.
Production Company(ies)
Excelsa Film
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, violence, some sexual content and language
Year of Release
2003
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 56m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 2003 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 24, 2004
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
Matchstick Men, Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman, Bruce McGill, Ridley Scott, Ted Griffin, Nicholas Griffin, Eric Garcia, Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Sean Bailey, PG-13, Comedy, Warner Bros Pictures, Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Stereo, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital, Scope (2.35:1), $36.9M, 186 Reviews, 100,000+ Ratings, reviewed by David Ansen, Nell Minow, Todd McCarthy, Ian Nathan, Derek Adams, Nick Schager, Debbie Lynn Elias, Cole Smithey, Urban Cinefile Critics, Brad Slager, Rick Kisonak, con artist, obsessive-compulsive disorder, teenage daughter, family business, big scam, businessman, parenting techniques, sexual content, language, thematic elements, violence
Worldwide gross: $65,565,672
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $106,273,545
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 983
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 11,589,263
US/Canada gross: $36,906,460
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $59,820,638
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 990
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,087,307
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $21,212,846
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 629
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $62,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $100,494,048
Production budget ranking: 405
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $54,116,045
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$48,336,548
ROI to date (est.): -31%
ROI ranking: 1,568
Sam Rockwell – Frank
Alison Lohman – Angela
Bruce Altman – Dr. Klein
Bruce McGill – Frechette
Sheila Kelley – Kathy
Jack Rapke – Producer
Steve Starkey – Producer
Sean Bailey – Producer
Ted Griffin – Producer, Writer
Nicholas Griffin – Writer
Eric Garcia – Writer
Ridley Scott – Director
Director(s)
Ridley Scott
Writer(s)
Ted Griffin, Nicholas Griffin, Eric Garcia
Producer(s)
Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Sean Bailey, Ted Griffin
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
5 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (186) | Top Critics (54) | Fresh (153) | Rotten (33)
Matchstick Men glides from comedy to suspense to poignance, arriving at a destination you might not suspect…Fun while it lasts, but it’s a bit of a con job itself.
March 12, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
This is a movie about con games at every level.
December 26, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
Matchstick Men never really casts off its cloak of artificiality and calculation; its pleasures are minor, however distracting they may be.
July 7, 2008
Todd McCarthy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Scott tucks away his visual athletics in favour of something leisurely and quietly devastating. It’s ultimately far more cunning a script than we can reveal here.
December 30, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Ridley Scott lets us enjoy the satisfying clicks and whirrs of the well-oiled celluloid con trick, while leaving plenty of head room for Cage to twitch and fret in.
June 24, 2006
Derek Adams
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A lot more fun than most of the director’s pompously inflated output.
May 4, 2005 | Rating: B
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
Matchstick Men — a nice strong balance of laughter and melodrama that envelops you like A Summer Wind.
November 13, 2019
Debbie Lynn Elias
Behind The Lens
Nicholas Cage gives his best performance since “Leaving Los Vegas” as con man Roy Waller in this sophisticated movie about familial responsibility, self-imposed barriers and the possibilities of a well executed long con.
June 12, 2009 | Rating: A-
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
A cleverly planned switcheroo story in which the twist at the end is the knife in the back.
October 18, 2008
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Matchstick Men works because of the way the key players handle the material. This is the work of professionals acknowledging a good story and knowing better than to get in the way.
December 6, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/5
Brad Slager
Film Threat
Something less than the sum of its parts, Matchstick Men is a decent film that should have been a considerably better one.
December 6, 2005 | Rating: 3/5
Rick Kisonak
Film Threat
What saves Matchstick Men from being a complete washout are the performances by Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman.
March 5, 2005 | Rating: 2.5/5
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic…
Plot
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
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Nicolas Cage gives a standout performance as a con artist with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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