American Hustle was pretty compelling if a bit overrated

Rating: 7/10 (16 January 2014)

Today, I watched this with my movie theatre-working friend who had seen it previously. I knew of its Golden Globe wins for Best Picture-Comedy or Musical, Best Actress-C or M: Amy Adams, and Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence. And this morning, there were Oscar noms for Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and all four acting categories for Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper as well as Ms. Adams and Ms. Lawrence. Now, my friend said it was okay after seeing it for the second time. Me, I'm pretty much the same in reacting to it. I mean, there were some funny moments and some compelling scenes and dialogue exchanges but after a while, I did admit to feeling confused at some tone changes and whether we're supposed to feel for some of these characters or not. I thought the Bale character the most compelling of them and if he wins, I'll be glad. The other nominated performances don't seem as compelling but I wasn't too bored even when some scenes seem to not have much of a point. I suppose I would have to watch again to maybe get a better flow of what this picture was trying to accomplish. Still, American Hustle is worth a look.