3.5 stars out of 5
As I’m in the holiday spirit, I’m giving this 3.5 stars, but just know that I’m definitely rounding up.
What does that “O” stand for in David O. Russell? Overlong? Obfuscate? The Fighter felt too long and meandered a bit. Silver Linings Playbook started out quite strong but devolved into a screwball comedy. And this… I don’t quite know what this is. American Hustle is well-performed, generally entertaining, but kind of a mess.
I think the problem this, at its core this is just a heist movie. But Russell wants it to also be a zany comedy—which I don’t think he’s particularly skillful at—and the two styles work against each other. As a heist, the tension should keep ratcheting up and up and up. But he keeps undercutting it with “hey isn’t this funny” moments and after a while, I didn’t feel invested in the movie anymore.
That’s a shame, because early on, it felt like a smart, interesting movie, and the actors are mostly terrific. Christian Bale actually seems to be enjoying himself, even if he’s sort of doing a DeNiro impression. Bradley Cooper is having a good time too, though as the film goes on his role becomes more of a caricature (perhaps of the famously hot-headed David O. Russell himself?). Jeremy Renner does very nice work as the mayor of Camden, without hamming it up. Jennifer Lawrence is fun to watch as a Housewife of Lawn Guyland. But she is taken to acting school here by Amy Adams. Adams is sexy and strong and striving and troubled and vulnerable and it’s unfortunate that the movie doesn’t rise up to the same level.
What else can I tell you? Louis C.K. is decent as a faceless bureaucrat. It’s good to see ol’ Half-Face from Boardwalk Empire; too bad he doesn’t get any scenes with Nucky’s brother who is wearing a crazy wig. And if you’re keeping track of movies that use the Electric Light Orchestra to evoke the 1970s, please add this to ever-increasing list.
The O stands for Owen.
I think I enjoyed it more than you did. The actors are what kept me most interested more than the plot. For me a good sign is when the actor no longer is the actor but the character they are portraying, often I find they aren’t able to separate from their role and their real life persona. In this film they all separated clear cut, For me Jennifer Lawrence did a great job, more convincing in her role than Amy Adams. I laughed at the pairing of the Boardwalk alumni too. Jack Huston is fun to watch. I do agree it could have been edited a bit more as it dragged on in parts. Overall I would recommend it!
Jack, nice review. However, like Michele, I also seemed to enjoy it more than you did, even though it’s my least favorite genre — here I agree with you that it is essentially a combination of a screwball comedy and a heist/con-game film (the ethical dilemmas in the movie, while very real, are diluted by the comedic uproar), very loosely based on real events, but maximally distorting them each and every way for dramatic/comedic effect (I usually hate it when this happens). Despite all this, I found the characters that Russell created to be absolutely hilarious and amazingly detailed and fleshed-out in their comedic splendor, which allowed me to thoroughly enjoy a movie that I would otherwise probably hate. Most importantly, the casting is impeccable – each actor seemed to be born for their roles, I can’t recall when was the last time I was so impressed by the acting, despite such a light-weight genre. I guess I would give it a 4.0 out of 5.0 (with 5+ for the characters and the acting, and 3 for the substance of it)
And that’s why I always read reviews with a grain of salt (in wound). Reasonable people can watch the exact same thing and have very different reactions. Or in this case, slightly different. We’re all correct!