American Hustle Review
RYAN: American Hustle is this year’s offering from director David O. Russell and he’s bringing back all of his big guns in the acting department for which it’s paid off nicely; since they’re all getting nominated up the watoozey. Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale… all some of my favorite actors and I couldn’t see this movie fast enough. After loving Russell’s The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, I was primed to dig this movie and I certainly did.
CAROLINE: You know it’s a strong cast when Brad Cooper is the weakest link. I dont mean that to insult him at all, but the others are so amazing in this that I was in awe. Christian Bale’s hairpiece, alone, should be nominated for an award.
RYAN: And his gut. Was that even real?!
CAROLINE: Yes! He put on 60 pounds for the role.
RYAN: From über-skinny in The Machinist and Rescue Dawn to this – he pulls out all the stops in his performances. I’m also impressed by his Ameraccent here.
CAROLINE: Watching this movie made me think, “Hello Oscar noms!” It was so good, enjoyable and well-made. The 70’s details, including the costumes and music, were simply phenomenal.
RYAN: Completely. There are good period films that capture another time but this one actually puts you in it. The music is so key here, used so effectively. And the costumes are so cool – it’s not like you ever really wanna dress in 70’s garb, but some of these looks, you almost want to wear today.
CAROLINE: Amy Adams’ body in this movie is rockin’! She’s very pretty but not someone you often think of as hot until you see this movie.
RYAN: Oh 100%. I’ve always loved her and this is by far her most complicated and interesting performance to date. That Jennifer Lawrence is getting more buzz and nominations, so far, for her work in the film, is beyond me. Not that she’s not brilliant, but in comparison, Amy is a tour de force. Amy plays so many layers and accents and attitudes, emotions. Jenny just plays one note in her character throughout the film. She plays it brilliantly but it’s basically one speed. Amy has much more to do.
CAROLINE: I would put Amy up their with Kate, Cate and Meryl.
RYAN: [laughs] I love that.
CAROLINE: She’s just that good.
RYAN: David O. Russell has become one of my favorite writer/directors. He gets such raw performances out of his actors and creates such juicy material that you watch it with a sense of awe. The direction is so top notch. The cinematography is very fluid and flowing. Many shots pan across side to side, up and down and always moving. The voice over is also very cool. The narration does a sort of volleyball between the Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Brad Cooper.
CAROLINE: It’s a thoroughly enjoyable movie. There’s also a great cameo I won’t reveal but it’s not surprising when you think of previous actors O. Russell has worked with.
RYAN: Can we talk about the jerry curl in Brad’s hair? I mean, really – how does he still look hot with that hair?!
CAROLINE: Totally. The scene with the curlers was amazing and Jeremy Renner’s pompadour was equally impressive.
RYAN: The script loosely inspired by the ABSCAM events of the 70s but interestingly, for something not as meaty as, say a war or terrorist attack, this movie still has all the weight of one of the most important movies about those subjects. It’s just a high art film with totally mainstream talent and enough humor and intrigue to appeal to anyone.
CAROLINE: The attention to detail is incredible. It’s a total crowd pleaser while still being somewhat political but not overly so. I loved this movie and wholeheartedly endorse it. Amy is just a marvel and the rest of the cast is great too. Having seen Catching Fire recently, I prefer my J.Law in a movie like American Hustle. She’s fine as Katniss but she’s better than that.
RYAN: Yes but it’s a little unfair to compare the two since they’re such different genres and from such different auteurs – but as performanes go, the material she has here does give her quite a canvas to paint upon. I love this movie on every level. And it’s on a whole other level from every other movie this year. It’s certainly one of the year’s best and it will be interesting to see if this one finally brings some gold to David O Russell.
Michael Owens December 29, 2013
I have to disagree with his review. Just watched it and was bored throughout. The story was disjointed, the acting was nothing to shout out about at all. Yes the costumes were good, as is the music. But as for oscar noms, for art direction maybe but definitely not for any of the actors.
I’ve seen them all, including the weak link Cooper act better in other films.