When Jennifer Lawrence won her Oscar last year, I rolled my eyes a little bit. Sure, she was good in Silver Linings Playbook, but was it Oscar worthy? I didn’t know if I’d go that far. But her brash performance as the bored, depressed housewife of a con man in American Hustle is practically transcendent. She lights up the screen whenever she’s around, and no one else can even attempt to meet her level of bravado. It’s truly incredible.
Does that sound like enough hyperbole for you? Needless to say American Hustle (directed by David O. Russell) is better than I thought it would be. I heard the hype, but I didn’t expect it to live up to it (I’m a cynical dame, what can I say?). It totally does! The movie is sharp, well-directed, and has amazing performances from the likes of Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., and more.
American Hustle is the sorta true-ish story of the ABSCAM scheme in the ‘70s that involved the FBI, some con artists, and crooked politicians. Sure, Russell has beefed up the plot and the drama here, and there’s even a disclaimer that “Some of this actually happened.” What follows is a ‘70s crime romp that harkens back to the early glory days of Martin Scorsese.
Okay, so some of the plot is kinda convoluted and can be slightly hard to follow, but the jist is that Bale is a con artist who falls in love with Adams’s character and brings her into his weird loan scheme while his housewife (Lawrence) raises his son. Cooper is an eager FBI agent who busts them and coerces them to help him catch politicians taking bribes in order to avoid jail time. That’s where Renner’s clueless mayor character comes into play. Along the way, Jennifer Lawrence mucks up some of their plans when she catches the eye of a mafioso.
American Hustle might, on paper, sound like a crime drama, but it is one of the funnier movies I’ve seen all year. Christian Bale goes for broke with his fat, paunchy belly and ridiculous combover, Jennifer Lawrence is electric, and Bradley Cooper could teach a class in manic coked-out-dom (Well, him and Leonardo DiCaprio, who also similarly shines in Wolf of Wall Street).
The movie might be a little over-the-top and a tad messy, but it’s also a love letter to the quirky and weird characters before us. American Hustle is infectiously fun and zany, and it will hustle its way into your heart.
-- Darcie Duttweiler
Does that sound like enough hyperbole for you? Needless to say American Hustle (directed by David O. Russell) is better than I thought it would be. I heard the hype, but I didn’t expect it to live up to it (I’m a cynical dame, what can I say?). It totally does! The movie is sharp, well-directed, and has amazing performances from the likes of Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., and more.
American Hustle is the sorta true-ish story of the ABSCAM scheme in the ‘70s that involved the FBI, some con artists, and crooked politicians. Sure, Russell has beefed up the plot and the drama here, and there’s even a disclaimer that “Some of this actually happened.” What follows is a ‘70s crime romp that harkens back to the early glory days of Martin Scorsese.
Okay, so some of the plot is kinda convoluted and can be slightly hard to follow, but the jist is that Bale is a con artist who falls in love with Adams’s character and brings her into his weird loan scheme while his housewife (Lawrence) raises his son. Cooper is an eager FBI agent who busts them and coerces them to help him catch politicians taking bribes in order to avoid jail time. That’s where Renner’s clueless mayor character comes into play. Along the way, Jennifer Lawrence mucks up some of their plans when she catches the eye of a mafioso.
American Hustle might, on paper, sound like a crime drama, but it is one of the funnier movies I’ve seen all year. Christian Bale goes for broke with his fat, paunchy belly and ridiculous combover, Jennifer Lawrence is electric, and Bradley Cooper could teach a class in manic coked-out-dom (Well, him and Leonardo DiCaprio, who also similarly shines in Wolf of Wall Street).
The movie might be a little over-the-top and a tad messy, but it’s also a love letter to the quirky and weird characters before us. American Hustle is infectiously fun and zany, and it will hustle its way into your heart.
-- Darcie Duttweiler
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