American Hustle

I saw American Hustle a few weeks ago in the theater. I had my $5 movie ticket, free bucket of popcorn and XL cup of blue raspberry Icee. I knew I was in for a great night of entertainment. I just want to mention that I'm glad Marcus theaters has wised up and given people a chance to watch movies for $5. I know it's only on Tuesdays, but it's a smart move that benefits both sides. The free popcorn promotion was a nice touch as well. Kudos Marcus.

Now to the movie. I'm a huge Christian Bale fan, so this movie and Out of the Furnace has been on my radar for a while now. Christian Bale playing an overweight con man was only sweetened by his fellow cast mates. Amy Adams provides a spectacular performance as Bale's partner in crime. I've never been the biggest Bradley Cooper fan, but he's proven me wrong with his performance in Silver Linings Playbook and now this movie. Jennifer Lawrence played a very repugnant character, which is a nice change of pace. She usually plays the hero or someone that you can at least like. I love Jennifer Lawrence, but her role in American Hustle makes me hate her guts. This just shows how convincing she can be, and how great of an actress she really is. Finally Jeremy Renner caps off this well rounded cast as a well loved politician from New Jersey. He comes across as a man of the people and it serves him well in this role.

The movie itself is remarkable. It follows Irving Rosenfeld, played by Christian Bale, who has been fighting and scraping for everything in his life. He cons people out of their money and shadows it with a legitimate dry cleaning business. He eventually moves into more risky business with Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) and is looking for a bigger score. The two have amazing chemistry both as characters and actors. The two eventually get caught and the feds use them to catch the proverbial "bigger fish." Many parties get involved and things escalate quickly. Everyone seems to be conning everyone and no one realizes what's what until the end.

I would compare it to a modern day Goodfellas on the comparison of on screen talent, plot and tempo. This is a must see movie. I'm glad it was nominated for best picture and I'm equally glad that the four cast members were individually nominated for their respective roles. This years best picture category is very stiff when it comes to competition so we'll see if they prevail.

I give American Hustle 5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.