Review of American Hustle (2013) by Stephen T — 15 May 2015

Well, it is a rare thing to capture the spirit of an age and yet director David O. Russell has been done that with this film. Give Russell credit; even if you didn't live through the decade, the movie's manic energy made you want to.

The movie's plot involving the FBI's Abscam political corruption probe isn't really important and its best if you don't follow it too closely. If you do then you'll miss out on one of the best con movies to come out in many years.

Honestly, we need to thank Russell for not taking the subject seriously (oh, how the movie could've dragged if he did). Instead, Russell infuses the film with an upbeat swagger that only a few films have equaled, such as The Sting (1973, George Roy Hill), Ocean's Eleven (2001, Steven Soderbergh), and The Hoax (2006, Lasse Halstrom).

Russell has a stock company of actors with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams who would probably go to the moon for him if he asked. Examples: Cooper dons jerry-curls, Lawrence wears sweet yet smelly fingernail polish, Bale inhabits a pot belly and intense comb over, and Adams delivers a less-than-effective British accent.

It's a toss-up who puts-in the best performance, but my vote is for Bradley Cooper. Cooper does get better and better in every movie he's in. Born to lose; he plays a hotshot FBI agent who harbors delusions of grand career climbing, but stumbles over his own ambitions.

It almost sounds Shakespearean yet more fun. Other notable instances include Adams' annoying faux-British accent which went in and out at both the right and wrong times and nowhere this year will you find a better opening scene.