The best Martin Scorsese film Martin Scorsese never directed

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2013)

American HUSTLE (2013) **** Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Louis CK, Jack Huston, Michael Pena, Shea Whigham, Alessandro Nivola, Elisabeth Rohm, Robert De Niro.
David O. Russell's blackly funny satire of sorts about a pair of grifters (Bale, with a combover from Hell and paunch to boast of gleeful deglam, and Adams proffering a come-and-go Brit accent) who find themselves in a bind when ambitious Fed (Cooper in a homemade perm and ego to boost) is out to make a name for himself by concocting Abscam (more-or-less) in the process. The best Martin Scorsese film Martin Scorsese never directed could best sum up this miasma of horrid clothing choices and questionable hygiene replete with a stellar soundtrack of pop AM nuggets and a root-for-the cons to win heart line. Crackerjack cast scores with hilarity including Renner as a well-meaning NJ mayor in the midst (and apparently Joe Pesci's wig rejects) and especially Lawrence as trashy but foxy smart wife of Bale's and funny man CK as Cooper's by-the-book schlump superior. Cleverly concocted script by Russell and Eric Singer has dialogue that sings and just enough gumption to make more for less.