Don't Believe the Hype

Rating: 3/10 (19 January 2014)

If upon learning this was a con artist story you were expecting "Ocean's 11" or "Now You See Me", prepare to be disappointed. It began with Christian Bale's shirtless fat guy body gluing his "elaborate comb-over" to his scalp, and didn't get better. 10 Oscar nominations? I don't get it. I will say the acting was rather good: Jennifer Lawrence was great in her role and deserved the Golden Globe (though I didn't see any of her competition). Bale and Amy Adams were believable, but I can't see "best actor" for either (though I realize Amy already got the GG). Though I like her, I think she might have won on the basis of cleavage - everything she wore was open down to the waist (not complaining). I've seen magazines from the 70s and I can't recall every outfit looking like that.
There was a story, such as it was, but it wasn't very cohesive, and the writer and/or director seemed to empty the film cliché toolbox, utilizing a myriad of rehashed techniques (flashbacks, starting the movie in the middle of the story, 1st person narration, the surprise con twist), but didn't really stick with any of them and therefore none of them really worked. But the dialog was the worst part of the movie. Many of the characters changed direction without notice or circumstance, and not because they were switching things up as part of the con. Other times they would say things as if they were in 2 conversations at once. It almost felt like there were 3 or 4 versions of the script and someone shuffled them all together (maybe it was just bad editing). And for all the press "Wolf of Wall Street" has gotten for the number of F-bombs, this film had no shortage. Jeremy Renner has gotten no press for his involvement, and it's deserved. He plays an Italian American mayor in New Jersey but he just looks and sounds like Jeremy Renner wearing a pompadour wig. One of the best performances is from stand-up comic Louis CK who is barely acting, but has some of the best lines. Though he never does get to tell the end of the ice fishing story.