American Hustle's charms are numerous, from lavish comb-overs and 70's Cadillacs to striving DA's and con artists. Everyone's on the make, highborn or low. The actors seem to be having so much fun, I wanted to throw on some polyester and join them. That's the good and the bad. The movie is fun, but ultimately you remember the wigs, not the plot. David Russell's film makes a halfhearted point about American's striving and hubris, but it doesn't commit. The mood is too frothy for pathos or satire and you're left just chuckling at the clothes and the shenanigans.
And the acting. Christian Bale's pudgy Bronx conman in wide lapels and cravat is sumptuous, as is Jennifer Lawrence as his hot, layabout, drama queen wife. Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper have nice turns, but I particularly like Jeremy Renner's big hearted Mayor of Camden. The comedian Louis CK plays the only seemingly normal character in the film and is cudgeled for his trouble.
One thing that's beginning to irritate me about Russell's films, at least this one and The Fighter, is a tendency to be voyeuristically looking at lower-middle and middle class characters. Almost as if the director were winking at us as we laugh at the poor striving schmucks. It's less of a problem here because the mood is so light, but I found it deeply unpleasant in The Fighter.
