Today’s quick review: Con Man. At age 16, Barry Minkow (Justin Baldoni) starts his own cleaning business, borrowing heavily and using his knack for marketing to become an overnight success. As Barry’s lies and fraud propel the business to new heights, he brings in mafioso Jack Saxon (Armand Assante) as an investor. But when Barry’s crimes land him in jail, an older and wiser Barry (Barry Minkow) is forced to reevaluate his life.
Con Man is a crime drama based on a true story. Justin Baldoni stars as Barry Minkow, a precocious teenager with no qualms about bending the truth to get what he wants. Con Man is a credible account of how Barry made his fortune, beginning with an honest business and growing out of control as he tries to keep up with his rampant spending and limitless ambitions. Decent subject matter and a good lead set the movie off to a good start.
However, Con Man stumbles and falls halfway through. The first half of the movie is a modest but engaging story about a criminal’s rise and fall. The second half deals with Barry’s reform in prison and his life after he gets out. Instead of either an uplifting tale of redemption or a tragedy about recidivism, the movie splits the difference between the two, simultaneously playing up Barry’s successes and undercutting his inflated opinion of himself.
Con Man makes for a peculiar watch. The first half of the movie will appeal to fans of real-life crime story and tales of wealth and power. The second half of the movie suffers from an unfocused story and a bipolar stance on its main character. Con Man has the makings of a decent movie, including a veteran supporting cast in the form of Ving Rhames, James Caan, and Mark Hamill. But its virtues ultimately are not enough to outweigh its faults.
For a more amusing and more polished true story about financial fraud, try The Wolf of Wall Street. For a more interesting story about a con man, try Catch Me If You Can. For a quirkier story about a serial liar, try The Informant!. For a similarly ambiguous but more artfully constructed about a real-world criminal, try Molly’s Game.
[4.7 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6675400/). I give it a 5.5 for a good start and a weak ending.