Well worth the price of admission; one heck of a ride

Rating: 9/10 (13 January 2014)

That American Hustle owes a huge debt to Goodfellas and director Martin Scorsese cannot be disputed, but it also had an intimacy that Goodfellas lacked, an ability to draw you in and make you like these truly unlikeable characters. From Christian Bale's fat, bald, bizarre comb-over con man, to Bradley Cooper's frantic, fanatic FBI-hero wannabe, to the two outrageous, gorgeous ladies – Jenn Lawrence and Amy Adams, whose plunging neckline garments left nothing to the imagination (and made us wonder once again, just how our ridiculous movie rating system works) – and then on to Jeremy Renner's wonderful, heart-breaking performance as the mayor of Camden, N.J. – this film's director, David O. Russell, had us all in thrall, once again. Not as quirky and enjoyable as Silver Linings Playbook, in my opinion, but still a very entertaining ride, American Hustle is worth the price of admission. Significant cameo aside (though a very delightful surprise), there is a scene where the con man and the mayor bond while singing "Why Delilah" that could have been shot in one of my cousin's rec room finished basements. Yeah, it was that authentic.