I wish it had just been a caper movie.....

Rating: 6/10 (10 March 2014)

I liked parts of American Hustle quite a lot. The title works on several levels. The performances were outstanding. It looked great. I just think it tried to do too much. It's basically a story about Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser, a couple of pretty good con artists who ran some pretty good cons, how they got caught by the FBI, and what they did about it. That's a foundation for a neat little caper movie.
BUT, Mr. Russell had Bradley Cooper attached, so he spent a lot of time on Mr. Cooper's FBI character, Richie DiMaso, Richie's fractious relationship with his supervisor and his growing obsession with Sydney, without really providing any motivation for him other than a hint of a drug habit and a suspicion that his ambition might be out of control.
Irving's wife, Rosalyn, plays a small but pivotal role, but Mr. Russell had Jennifer Lawrence attached, so her role became expanded to the point of becoming a distraction. About one tenth of Rosalyn's histrionics would have been just as effective.
When the story finally comes full circle, back to Irving and Sydney, the denouement seems to come out of left field. I'd have liked this movie a lot better if it had stayed with Irving and Sydney throughout. Then the payoff would have been a logical progression of events and a great deal more satisfying than it was.