Posted on 12/26/2013 4:22:41 PM PST by LS
Every once in a while Hollywood produces a film that is not only well acted but extremely well written. "American Hustle," loosely based on the Abscam sting operation of the 1970s, will certainly be in the running for best picture.
Christian Bale plays Irving Rosenfeld, again based loosely on con man Melvin Weinberg, who pretends to be a front for a "sheik" (played by Michael Pena---a Hispanic playing an Arab itself is a source of some good lines) to entrap congressmen and other public officials including "Mayor Polito," a friend of Rosenfeld's again based somewhat on Camden mayor Angelo Erricheti.
The cast not only is extremely strong, featuring the morphling Bale (who goes from muscular Batman to the crackhead brother in "The Fighter" to the paunchy, balding Rosenfeld), but versatile Amy Adams (who gets better in every picture), hunk Brad Cooper (sufficiently de-hunkized with a curley-cue hair job) and the talented (and yes, hot) Jennifer Lawrence. At one point or another in the movie, each of the four is paired one-on-one with the other and they handle the scenes masterfully. Mayor Polito is played by ("Hawkeye" in the Avengers) Jeremy Renner in another solid performance. But Bale carries the show, with Lawrence a strong second.
This is a scam movie---who'se zommin' who---in the tradition of "The Sting," although the climax isn't as dramatic. But, more than "The Sting," "American Hustle" looks at the erosion of dignity and humanity brought about by the simplest of lies. Ultimately, it shows us that regardless of how adept one is at lying, it exacts a cost on the soul.
There is unrelenting foul language (apparently a trademark of screenwriters these days) but no obvious sex and surprisingly little violence. After watching (to my regret) "The Fast and the Furious Six" the other night, in which the car chases and explosions were unrelenting, it was good to watch quality screenwriting in action. In the end, the moral is you can't con a con man.
Are there any car chases and explosions in this movie? If not then I’m not watching it.
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Thank you, great critique, sounds like it’s worth a look..
I'm really impressed with Jennifer Lawrence; she seems to get better in each subsequent movie. And Christian Bale has been a favorite of mine since he made his debut in "Empire of the Sun".
Why would you go see F&F6 unless you wanted to see car chases and explosions? I would think by F&F5 you would have figured out what you were getting.
American Hustle was a GOOD movie! Good acting and great screen writing. Not a big Bale fan, but he was effective in this role. I thought Jennifer Lawrence’s performance was awesome
I heard that the corrupt mayor is presented as almost a good guy.
True?
Yes true
Very average movie.
Unlikeable characters.
And anticlimactic ending for a LONG movie.
I LOVED IT. 5 stars. Hot. Sexy. Funny. Cool. 70’s baby.
Yes. Remember, he’s more of a composite(like Obama’s girlfriends) but he is sympathetic.
If Brad Cooper explodes, does that count?
Yes, I thought it might just be me cause Jennifer Lawrence is so darn hawt but she is a great young actress.
The trend in Hollywood now is for the 2-hour movie because they are so expensive.
A good flick. I thought Amy Adams carried the movie. But all four were exceptional. I recommend it and no, no explosions that I recall.
Last movie I saw in a theater was “Gravity”. I thoroughly enjoyed the part where Sandra Bullock’s character came out of her spacesuit...don’t remember much after that...
doesn’t sound like something I would watch
Obviously, I’m old, because I love movies that can pull off the ‘70s fashion. I giggle at what I wore as a child but I enjoy seeing it represented in movies. Casino was much more enjoyable for because of it. I’m glad you liked American Hustle because I am interested in seeing it.
LOL. Yes, very good scene, and better than Sigourney Weaver in “Alien.”
I thought overall the movie was okay. The last half of the movie was stronger. I think Bale and Adams will win the Oscar for this. I am not sure if the movie will. I thought at times Adams looked better that Lawrence. The music was great. I thought the ending was specious.
If you were around during the 70s, even as kid as I was, you will appreciate it, but other than that it was a nostalgic time piece trying to recreate the Oscar magic of Argo with a bit of Silver Lining Playbook.
I really did not think Argo deserved best picture. We must be in real trouble in this country if we have this favorable view of the 70s.
" We must be in real trouble in this country if we have this favorable view of the 70s."
Before my time, but yeah. I guess anything looks better than the age of Obama. Will there be 2010's nostalgia movies 40 years from now?
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