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•	2003 Album

•	2025 Album

•	2003 Album

The effective result of Matchstick Men yields one of Zimmer's most memorable, albeit potentially obnoxious works. The flair for comedy writing that he possesses is on full display here, with the zany personality of the music shining through in several creative solo performances beyond the base orchestra. Of course, the accordion is an essential piece of European culture, and Zimmer works it into nearly every tango-rhythmed cue of the score. For those of you who wish death upon accordion players, take heart in Zimmer's knack for featuring the instrument without allowing it to run away with the spotlight. It serves in an accompanying role much like the whistlers do. The whistling is the essential piece of the innocent 1950's equation, offering an excellent point of depth to the main character's obsession with cleaning his environment. A '50's band, complete with all of the woodwinds that you heard in pop jazz of the time, are floated with marimbas, a vibraphone, and keyboarding that places the score squarely in a loungey atmosphere. The swing of the score reaches its height in "Carpeteria," with the assistance of a whimsical string section. Despite the temptation to connect this sound with John Williams' more stylistically reserved jazz in Catch Me If You Can from the previous year, Zimmer's work for Matchstick Men is more wacky (you can't help but shake your head at the chirping bird sounds at the start of "Weird is Good") while being lovable in a slightly dysfunctional sort of way and considerate of the genre from which it was derived. The Rota-related material is inspired directly from some of the songs utilized in the film, with the falsely innocent "Swedish Rhapsody" perfectly establishing the double-faced mood for Zimmer's underscore. The inclination to stay close to Rota's works causes a very obvious though welcomed waltz inspired by The Godfather in the final track of the album, "The Banker's Waltz." Likewise, a hint of European dramatic tragedy can be heard in "Shame on You," which is the first and only cue that expands upon the family drama; it once again puts Zimmer in the position of utilizing his favorite, classical chord progressions with the strings. The tone of "Pygmies!" reminds of Danny Elfman's brooding melodrama. For the most part, the synthesized elements typical to Zimmer's studio are placed at a lower priority to the dynamic tones of live instruments for the project, the effects at the end of "No More Pills" downright bizarre in a funny way.

The downside of Matchstick Men is that its personality does have the capability to rattle your nerves. Unless you specifically seek the score for its unique atmosphere, its happy-go-lucky spirit and similarly themed songs could test your patience. There is only so much of that zippy, light-hearted comedy writing from the era that a person can tolerate before fearing that you'll get one of those false 50's-era smiles plastered permanently on your face, (Americans will recognize this hideous condition from one company's "male enhancement" television advertisements in the U.S. during the 2000's.) Even in its authenticity, the lounge band elements are slightly off-kilter during all of their performances, perhaps an intentional move to keep the audience on edge during scenes of criminal activity. Like the characters in the film, the score is thus intentionally flawed in its hiccupping rhythms and sometimes incongruent bass string plucking. Only one Zimmer score cue is remarkably out of place; the Geoff Zanelli co-written, techno-laced "Tuna Fish and Cigarettes" (a coming of age burst of reality) is an abrasive shot into the musical future and does not fit with the surrounding Rota-like music. The songs from the film fit reasonably well with Zimmer's music on the initial album (a memorable Wayne Newton song heard in the film is omitted, however), though their placement throughout the product could dampen Zimmer enthusiasts' enjoyment of the score's merits alone. The opening song by Bobby Darin probably best captures the attitude and subject matter for the film and score. On the other hand, the "Swedish Rhapsody," although establishing an almost carnival atmosphere (mentioned previously as a good influence for Zimmer's fluffy work), explodes out of the surrounding score material in a way that could give a person nightmares of runaway Scandinavian merry-go-rounds. A 2025 expansion also from Varèse Sarabande drops the songs and throws together 79 minutes of Zimmer's score in chronological order as intended, and the experience is impressively improved in its narrative, anchored by important lengthy additions like "Angela" and "Let's Do This" along with more Rota adaptations and the concentration of drama at the end. Overall, you have to admire Zimmer's talent and ability to meld two genres as per Scott's eccentric wishes, coming close to a four-star rating if not for really irritating early comedy portions. But Matchstick Men is arguably a score better appreciated than enjoyed. You might get the feeling that if you hear it too often, you might start exhibiting behavior like that of Roy Waller in the film.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Hans Zimmer reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.85 (in 130 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 2.89 (in 301,586 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.