Matchstick Men (Ridley Scott, 2003)

Somewhat of a departure for Scott, since comedy isn't a genre he really dabbles in, Matchstick Men stars Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell as a pair of conmen who bite off more than they can chew when attempting to scam a local businessman with a currency exchange play. To complicate matters, Cage has severe OCD and Tourette's, and also discovers he's the father of a teenage girl from a previous marriage.
The chemistry between the two male leads is very much the film's strong suit: Cage's performances in anything other than junk have been curate's eggs since the '90s, but doing crazy is something he can always rely on and his array of tics and phobias provide much hilarity, even if it is pretty broad as a source of humour. Rockwell duly contributes his standard good-natured flim-flammery, and Alison Lohman, as the insouciant daughter, is quite a revelation. Knowing the director, it doesn't come as any surprise when it all goes south, and the twist ending is less than adroit, but until then it manages a fairly high entertainment quotient.

6/10