The American Oscar-Hustle, the biggest hustle of all

Rating: 3/10 (8 April 2016)

The American Oscar-Hustle, the biggest hustle of all
I was looking forward to seeing American Hustle, as it had received very good reviews and was nominated for a number of prestigious awards, including many Oscars. It sounded like a star-studded caper that would provide an enjoyable 2 hours viewing. With stars like Christian Bale and Amy Adams, together with the pair that I loved in 'Silver Linings Playbook' – Jenifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper – and to top it all, being directed by 'The Silver Linings' Director of the moment, David. O Russell – how could it fail?
Well, the answer to this question, according to box office receipts and a vast majority of professional critics is that it didn't fail – in fact you could call it an unqualified success. After all, most reviewers gave it at least a 4 out of five stars, using such gushing language as:
"The bizarre and hilarious situation rattles along, never entirely diverted or derailed, with plenty of comic set pieces."
And
"It's all rangy and loose, with scenes that look as if they could be re-cut and re-edited every which way. It could easily be two or three times as long, and there is enormous pleasure in Russell's sustained riffing."
And finally
And at the end, we feel dizzy and disorientated, like marks who don't know we've been had. It is pure style from David O Russell..
It all left me wondering if I was watching the same movie. Maybe I was simply in a very bad mood, but whatever it was, I remained unamused, totally confused, but most of all, thoroughly bored. The characters did absolutely nothing for me and I completely lost interest in what they were trying to do – all that I did feel was a total lack of empathy for these silly con-people. I confess that I became so bored that not only did I find difficulty in following the gibberish plot lines, but in moments of sheer tedium, I actually fast forwarded through some of the over-long, verbose dialogue. I cannot recall another occasion when watching a movie when I have resorted to doing this. It was almost 'wall-to- wall' talk, talk and more talk, which I found to be neither fascinating, nor amusing. It was just a load of 'west-coast-speak' diatribe.
I couldn't even begin to tell you what the plot was about as it is a while since I saw the movie and it was so forgettable, that nothing – not even the parts that I was able to follow – has stuck in my memory. If the movies should be judged by the sum of its parts, then by rights, American Hustle should be right up there, as there is much good acting, clever cinematography and stylish direction, but to what ends? Even if I am the only person who didn't get the jokes and was bored by the stupid capers and unlikely twists in the plot, did this film about a group of American con artists who lead glib, clever lives deserve to be crowned as the finest film made in the English language in 2013?
I think not.
Again, as with Birdman, the professional reviewers seem to be totally out of touch with the cinema going public. Sure, their rave reviews have meant that millions have flocked to see it, but what did they think of it? In many years of reading about movies on the Internet Movie Data Base, (IMDb), I have never seen such a litany of negative public reviews. Usually, the punters will rave about movies on IMDb, even when the critics have panned them, but this time it is the other way around. I am talking of review-headlines such as:-
'Just not understanding the hype',
'Looks Like I'm the Only One Who Didn't Like It',
'Don't be "Hustled" by the reviews'.
'American Hustle" is okay and nothing more',
'Disappointed beyond belief!',
'No plot, no acting, no drama, no fun',
'Bells and Whistles but Nothing to Care About',
'Disappointing',
'Self-indulgent mediocrity',
'Do not get ensnared in the hype surrounding this hustle...'
Believe it or not, these are the first 10 headlines that I copied – in order – from the IMDb 'user-review' section. Looks like it's not only me after all
But in spite of all this, as at 4th April 2014, it had grossed a whopping 150 million dollars in the USA alone, thanks, no doubt, to the rave reviews from the critics and the early garnering of 44 awards plus, of course, no less than 10 Oscar nominations.
The Oscar-Hustle, the biggest hustle of all
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