American Hustle: Trailer and Reviews

It's the 1970s. Polyester is big. Hair is big. Rollers and curls are big. And so is corruption in David O. Russell's newest movie, "American Hustle." The story focuses on a Bronx-born con man, comb-over king Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale in his 3rd trimester), and two women in his life: His partner/mistress Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) and his wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence). Sydney and Irving get roped into a scam being run by FBI agent Richie DeMaso (Bradley Cooper, in perm curlers) to snare politicians like Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner). Things don't go as planned.

Here's what the critics are saying:

A classic type as essential to the American Dream as Horatio Alger, if one who’s ditched honor in favor of hustling, Irving doesn’t pull himself up by his own bootstraps; instead, he steals the boots off some stooge and then sells them back to their original owner at twice the price. He dwells in that shady space between faith and doubt, between our divinely given, legally sanctioned national confidence (“In God We Trust”) and the deep, routinely vindicated recognition that it’s all a con. (Never give a sucker an even break.) Manohla Dargis, New York Times

Though a bit overlong, it’s all good fun (and I haven’t even mentioned Jeremy Renner’s Italian-by-way-of-New-Jersey politician, who’s got a pompadour so big you could pitch a tent on it). Russell, following last year’s sweet “The Silver Linings Playbook” with a very different tale of reinvention, has made a glittery disco ball of a movie, with Lawrence as its unexpectedly shining star. Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times 

"American Hustle" is loosely based on the "Abscam" scandal, which was crazy enough even before Russell and co-screenwriter Eric Singer got hold of it. The film changes names and motivations, adds characters and alters relationships, but one thing is true - the FBI really did hire a professional con man to put over the scam. Here that's Irving (Bale), a man from the Bronx streets (Bale's accent is perfection). His partner is his girlfriend, Sydney (Amy Adams), who hides her own hard-scrabble background behind a posh English accent. Both are driven by a need to re-invent themselves as something splendid and glamorous, which makes them quintessentially American dreamers, not just hustlers. Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The whole movie, a feast of ensemble wiles and stunning hair, is juicy, funny and alive. It sets its tone of blithe truthiness at the beginning, as the words flash on screen: "Some of this actually happened." Coming off "The Fighter" and "Silver Linings Playbook," director and co-writer Russell treats the 1970s Abscam sting operation, and the schlump at its center as a pivot point for a spacious ensemble comedy — tone-funny and atmosphere-funny, not punch line-funny. Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

“American Hustle” opens with an unrecognizable Christian Bale, balding and looking like he has swallowed a beach ball, meticulously working a pathetic comb-over. It’s hilarious and sad and, especially, entertaining. David O. Russell’s movie never lets up from there. Boasting terrific acting, a brilliant soundtrack, outrageous outfits and hair, and a kinda-sorta based-on-fact story of ambition and greed, it’s relentless, in the best possible way. This sounds like one of those silly blurbs you see plastered on DVD boxes, but this really is the most-fun movie of the year. Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

We’re all con artists, see. Everyone is conning someone else in order to survive. That’s the cockeyed theme of American Hustle, a crazy, classy mess of a movie that shifts tempos every 10 minutes, leaving you breathless. Marveling at a quintet of throbbing star performances and trying to keep up with the elaborate plot twists (inspired by the real-life Abscam political scandal) that come at you in sections will make you feel like your attention span is on speed dial. You won’t doze in this one. Rex Reed, The New York Observer

"American Hustle" runs 2 hours and 9 minutes and is rated R. It's playing at Beechwood Stadium 11 and Carmike Cinemas 12 in Athens. 

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