American Hustle

Released in 2013 under the direction of David O. Russell ("The Fighter," "Silver Linings Playbook") on a budget of $40 million with distribution from Columbia Pictures; "American Hustle" is a crime drama filled with twists, turns, betrayals, backstabbing and Jennifer Lawrence saying "sick son of a bitch" to a little kid. Critics have been all over this film like teenage boys at a Call of Duty release, so that means you should go and see it too, right? Let me be the guy to tell you, don't be fooled, cause it ain't worth seeing at your closest multiplex.

It's 1978, New York Glass Factory owner and dry-cleaning businessman Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) has an embezzling system set up as an investment firm with his partner and lover, Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams). But they are busted by the FBI and only manage to avoid jail time by agreeing to assist FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) in taking down Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), the mayor of Camden, New Jersey, who wishes to rebuild legal gambling to strengthen the town's economy. There is a problem: Irving's wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), a sad and unappreciated dimbulb housewife who is not aware of Irving's criminal involvement or dealings with the FBI. But she is beautiful and vivacious, which leads to Carmine insisting she go along on with dinner party meetings with dangerous mobsters (of course, because it's about gambling in New Jersey…), one of whom is played brilliantly by Robert De Niro.

So, wow, with a story like that, this sounds like a great movie that everyone should see, right? Um…sure, just not for the ticket price. I'll be honest, for those two hours, I found myself often disengaged from the movie's run time: it's a rather uninteresting story with interesting characters. This isn't a movie about black and white; it's grey area. There are no absolutes: no outright despicable characters, and no thoroughly honest characters, making it difficult to find one character to root for when they aren't good people. 

Of course, this isn't to say that the characters are badly written. In fact, they are each very interesting and they are cemented by strong performances by the actors. Bale gives a very believable performance as a character struggling with his tolerance for his own level of dishonesty. Adams excels as a character able to play the emotions of others and you're never quite sure if she is in control of her own. Renner is the closest to likable despite his dishonest methods. Cooper is the most dislikable of the bunch, trying to stroke his massive ego, as for Lawrence, she not only soars but is quite possibly gearing up for her second Oscar speech (her 10 seconds about "not liking change" should win it).

The dialogue is well written giving these fine actors plenty to work with, but the biggest failing of this movie is the direction. Russell's direction is slow and tedious and often loses sight of the plot, forcing it to drag down to the point where you lose interest in what's going on, leaving the actors to salvage the movie and then its thinness becomes evident to the viewer.

"American Hustle" is many things. On one hand, it's a fascinating collage of actors playing as characters who refuse to stand anywhere, but the grey area in a movie that gives an affection for the 1970's. On the other, it's a slow-moving film that loses track of it's narrative and drags the movie down, leaving the cast the only redeemable element of the movie. I still think you should see it, but I feel this is a movie that's better suited for your television screen than the theater screen.

Final Rating: 2.5/5