Whoa! What’s with that hair? Forget the crime; forget the plot; forget the dre – whoa! What’s with that dress on Amy Adams? And THAT dress on Amy Adams? You know, there are films that embrace the 1970s, and there are films that embrace them, court them, marry them and have a key party afterwards. American Hustle is most decidedly the latter.
Irving (Christian Bale) and Sydney (Adams) are small time hustlers. I suppose this harkens to an era when “Irving” and “Sydney” could be the names of small-time hustlers. Actually, the addition of Sydney, who does English accents, encourages Irving to expand his con; this is where, unfortunately, he attracts FBI man Richie (Bradley Cooper). Ambitious Richie busts the pair and blackmails their freedom for bigger game. Enter Camden 
mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner).
I have to interrupt here. You just can’t get beyond the look of American Hustle. Irving has a comb-over so outrageous it’s a plot point. Richie puts his locks in curlers at night and Carmine has a pompadour straight from the Liberace collection … and this is just the hair. With his do, a seer-sucker suit and an upbeat tempo, Renner constantly looks like he’s about to lead a Christian revival rally.
David O. Russell wrote/directed another terrific performance out of Jennifer Lawrence as Irving’s estranged and defiantly dim better half. Lawrence has the toughest role in the film as she’s often alone. Renner, Bale, Adams and Cooper constantly play off each other, while Lawrence is frequently in her own little corner, all alone, awwww. Even in this review, I feel obliged to recognize the soon-to-be-nominated JLaw, but have no flow for inclusion. She’s still not part of the group.
Some might remember the ABSCAM operation of the 1970s. American Hustle‘s take still includes the FBI-posed fake sheikh (Michael Peña) handling all the money and a random collection of fall guy politicians. And yet, the film makes the con seem convoluted to the point of triviality — especially with the idea that the pols weren’t terribly corrupt, just a little weak. Robert DeNiro shows up midway in a cameo as a heavy hitting mob boss and in three minutes of screen intensity makes the ensuing scenes look like a dog and pony show. For a few, this will have the effect of showing how the remaining players are in over their heads; my take was that it made the rest of the film frivolous, especially as DeNiro never returns. There’s nothing wrong with American Hustle. It’s a reasonable, even good-to-very-good film with some big talents and ridiculous hair. That said, it has nowhere near the depth nor the warmth of Russell’s 2012 gem, Silver Linings Playbook. The peripheral look of the American Hustle makes much more of an impression than anything within the film … and you can get that from the trailer.
♪Do the Hustle!
There goes Batman with a comb over
Is Bradley tryin’ to be rover?
Jeremy Renner looks like a preacher
On your head, what is that creature?
JLaw’s funny in her own domain
Doesn’t need to act out of restrain
Will she take home Golden Globe?
I’ll settle for her in Adams’ wardrobe
Do the Hustle!♫
Rated R, 138 Minutes
D: David O. Russell
W: Eric Singer, David O. Russell
Genre: The big con, with perms
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Abscam survivors
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Disco survivors
♪Parody inspired by “The Hustle”
