American Hustle Review

 It's been out for a while now, and I finally got to see American Hustle last night.   When I initially saw the trailer for this movie, I was a little foggy on the plot, but definitely excited for the cast.  I mean, seriously, another movie with Bradley Cooper and JLaw?  Awesome.  Then they add in Amy Adams, one of my favourite actresses working today,  Christian Bale, who I hope needs to introduction at this point, Jeremy Renner who's proven himself charismatic time and time again AND LOUIS FREAKIN' C.K.!   Yes, excitement was the word. 

Flash forward to last night.  Big comfy theatre seats, a wacked out thermostat (seriously, is that an issue in EVERY movie theatre?) and a couple solid trailers, then we're good to go.

From the beginning, I couldn't stop giggling.  Seriously, this hair style does not come easy:

He worked really hard to make it look like this.

As far as opening scenes go, a guy gluing a really sad hair piece under his really elaborate comb over was ridiculous in the best way.  It really sets the tone for the comedy aspect of the movie and lets you peer in to the character's carefully put together, very anxious world. 

As far as con men go, Irving Rosenfeld is small time, but he's smart about his plays.  Of course, things get complicated when love is involved.  He meets Sydney (Amy Adams) at a pool party held by some kind of deli king (I assume these people exist still?) and falls instantly in love as they connect over some good jazz.  That wasn't even a euphemism for anything.  The hitch? He's hitched and has an adopted son.

Naturally,  Syd's cool with that (or at least puts up with it in the beginning) and even agrees to join him in the con game as a Brit with "banking connections in London", Lady Edith Greensley.  The accent's a little off sometimes (as I'm sure it would be if someone from middle america were trying to pose as royalty) and I'm pretty sure a lady of royalty would own a bra.  The character within the character is a little over the top, which makes it so much better when everyone believes her.  As a team, they get an A+ for being so classy while selling stolen art ("Don't show that to your Spanish friends") and for convincing low-lifes in trouble that they'll try and get them a loan, for a non-refundable fee of course.  It's the loan con that lands them in trouble with Richie DiMaso, FBI.

Also particularly concerned with his hairstyle

To try and find success at the bureau, Richie enlists the dream team to help him snatch other con artists, which is the plan that keeps growing as he realizes just how deep the con game goes. The entangled relationships are a big part of what make this movie tick.   Everyone is thick as thieves (probably because they are thieves).  You go through one con man to find another, who gets you involved with a small time, beloved Mayor with a heart of gold(Jeremy Renner), who connects you to congressman and senators and somehow the mob gets involved in building a casino and everybody's on the take in some way or another. Richie wants to catch EVERYONE.  He's got ambition, and that's what gets him in too deep. It should be noted that his boss, Stoddard (Louis CK), tried to warn him with an excellent unfinished story about ice fishing in Michigan.  Every time that story is brought up, you'll probably get a good chortle out of it. 

"No, that's NOT the point of the story!"

The thing I particularly liked about the characters in American Hustle, is that each one is redeemable, if not likable in some way.    David O. Russell has really perfected the "I know what they're doing is against the law, technically, but I really like this guy" angle.

The story progresses really well, without feeling slow at any parts.  Some of the scenes are predictable, but I couldn't imagine them any differently than how they are.  For example, any time there's a love triangle in a movie, there's going to be drama and the person who was cheated on is going to go flirt with someone else at their first opportunity.  Irving's wife, Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), does this at a party, and of course happens to fall for a member of the mob.  These things happen.   I was actually quite surprised by how little screen time Lawrence's character got.  She was used a lot in the media coverage (THE GIRL ON FIRE!), but I'm sure that was a way to get more butts in the seats.  I don't think her character warranted any more scenes, as she was brilliant when on screen.  Watching J-Law "clean" (she was wearing dish gloves and holding a cloth) while singing and dancing to Live and Let Die really made my day.  Believe the hype, that girl is a treasure.

When it all comes down to it, the dream-con-team do what they can to help the good guys and end up screwing over the FBI agent with (you guessed it!) a con!  A well thought out elaborate plan that rivals the intricacies of Irving's hair.  Everyone comes out a better person, sort of.  Things end up where you think they should if everyone were to be a little more legit.

Overall, the movie was stylistically pleasing, had an interesting story line and almost a Goodfellas vibe in the camera-work and narration. It probably goes without saying, but the acting was also fantastic. I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy smart comedies.  I don't recommend it if you're not going to pay it your full attention.  A lot of the comedic aspects come from the details, like the facial expressions, or the way the characters move and interact.   I can guarantee that I'll watch this again when it's out on netflix, because I can't remember the last time I bought a DVD.

4/5 Rating -  Must see, if only for the cast's hair and make up (which I can't believe wasn't nominated for an Oscar! COME ON ACADEMY!).