Scorsese sans Scorsese

Rating: 6/10 (10 January 2014)

David O. Russell, coming off the heels of his success with "Silver Linings Playbook," works his talent on the crime genre of films with "American Hustle." Too bad it was a better film 20 years ago...when it was called, "Casino." Or was it "Goodfellas"? Nevertheless, this crime drama/comedy comes across as a day late and a couple bucks short, yet still manages some entertainment factor despite a "been there/seen that" approach.
Christian Bale stars as a con man in late 70's who's scam is basically the precursor to "I'm a Nigerian Prince" emails of the late 90's. He eventually teams up with a bored secretary played by Amy Adams, and the two beginning tricking desperate chumps into pouring money out to get a bigger loan amount. Naturally, they are caught red-handed by the FBI, and pushed under the thumb by agent Bradley Cooper, with his Serpico beard and Garfunkel hairdo. The FBI cut a deal with Bale to sting a couple of corrupt politicians in lieu of jail time, because in the Hollywood world, the FBI loves to screw other people into screwing other people. Eventually the operation, titled "ABSCAM" (for "Abdul Scam") involves convincing a New Jersey mayor, played by Jeremy Renner, into accepting a bribe by an Arab Sheik for revitalizing the Atlantic City boardwalk's casino empire. But, being that this is a crime flick and the stakes are so high, things get muddled and messy, and not everything goes to plan. Along the way, other parties become in involved, including Bale's bored, unsatisfied housewife, played by Jennifer Lawrence, and the mob themselves, lead by a cameo'd Robert DeNiro.
The main problem with the film is that it feels almost out of touch with today's audiences. Had this film been released back in the mid-90's, it would've starred DeNiro, James Woods, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci....ah hell, it would've basically been the entire cast of "Casino," with Martin Scorsese at the helm. Much like "Super-8" was J.J. Abrams attempting to emulate Spielberg, "Hustle" is David O. Russell's homage to Martin Scorsese (who ironically, released "Wolf of Wall Street" late last year and was as much as an homage to himself).
Christian Bale's performance is a bizarre impersonation of Robert DeNiro (and gets even stranger when he's sharing a scene with DeNiro himself) and is more or less Bale attempting to wow the audience with his method acting of gaining 40 pounds, shaving his hair bald, and putting on a Bronx accent that is still stymied due to his mouth breathing. Bradley Cooper is reminiscent of a coked-out, neurotic James Woods who despite being the federal agent of the film, comes across as the least likable character. Amy Adams does well with her multi-layered performance, but there's something about Adams in every film she does that despite her being an Oscar worthy actor, she never accomplishes any standout performance. Despite her Oscar winning performance in "Silver Linings," Jennifer Lawrence is woefully miscast in this role. I'm not saying she doesn't do a good job (she does), but her young age shows too brightly in this role as a single mom, which ironically I thought she was older in "Playbook". Her accent was also too minuscule for playing a working class Long Island princess. Jeremy Renner does fine as perhaps the most sympathetic character in the film, being a corrupt yet good intended mayor. Louis C.K., Alessandro Nivola, Jack Huston and Michael Pena round out the ensemble cast.
All in all, "Hustle" is a decent film and is in no way Russell's worst (that honor goes to "I Heart Huckabees," which incidentally I enjoyed). But when your film credits include the intensely poignant "Three Kings." masterfully crafted "The Fighter," and the strong but sweet "Silver Linings Playbook," your reputation is always on the line after back-to- back Oscar winners. No doubt "Hustle" will be a good contender during the Awards season, but that's possibly because this year has been a drought for artistic merit. It's never good to win by default.
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****