American Hustle: 5 parts style,1 part substance, a chigger of period music, dirty with an expected twist

Rating: 6/10 (23 December 2013)

American Hustle: 5 parts style,1 part substance, a chigger of period music, dirty with an expected twist
American Hustle attempts to be a David Mamet script filmed by Martin Scorsese. It's a nice try, but it doesn't live up to the challenge.
Sure, there are a couple of memorable lines, but the timing is off. Sure, there is some great period music, but it is at times awkward and plays because "we need a song here" and not because it fits. Sure, the costumes are great. They are also great costumes in San Francisco's Castro on Halloween. Sure, the characters are whack, but we don't care about them.
You don't have to care about the characters in a movie, but if you don't care about them, they have to be interesting. The characters in American Hustle are neither empathetic nor fascinating. They are retread characters from an old seventies television cop show like Baretta or Kojak. While that's not bad, it's not enough for a major Hollywood film to sustain it.
The movie starts at a climatic scene at the end of the second act and cut back to the beginning of the story, not unlike Good Fellas. However, unlike Good Fellas, there's no payoff, so to speak, at the end. The beginning is confusing and it lacks back story and development. The film is at once overly complex and predictably simple.
Sure, this movie will get its share of nominations for acting and Danny Elfman's sound track (a bright spot), but it's just not that soulful, ground breaking or hard hitting. Nor is it that entertaining.
Rating: Rent it.
It's not terrible, and the costumes are fun. However, unless you need to see wide lapels, bad comb-overs, caked on eye-shadow and long lashes larger then life, see it at home on the cheap. Better yet, rent Good Fellas, Casino, Heist or Glengarry Glen Ross to see what you, and the film makers of American Hustle, are missing.
Peace,
Tex Shelters