Good movie that just wasn't for me...

Rating: 6/10 (11 June 2014)

My expectations were kinda high for "American Hustle." I didn't get to see it in the theater and one crisis or another (usually involving highly mutated and intelligent apes that know kung-fu) kept me from watching it when it hit the home media department. Thankfully, I got to see it recently and with the word of mouth and the critics nearly giving it 100% universal, irrefutable praise, I thought I was going to watch the greatest thing. A visual representation of chocolate and peanut butter meeting for the first time.
It was close but not quite that.
Overall, I thought the film was okay but maybe my expectations were too high. The soundtrack is filled with great tunes from an era where music was made to endure the span of time, the premise was definitely interesting, and the cast is filled with ridiculously talented actors who are each giving their all (and more) in their performance. Even Jennifer Lawrence, an actress I'm usually indifferent to and don't really see the hype that surrounds her, blew me away her role. And did I mention the awesome hair on Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale?!? But all jokes about perms and comb-overs aside, the actors and actresses within this tale were incredible.
The real killer for me was the fact the film's plot and story unfold very slowly and, sometimes, feels like it is going nowhere or like it has no clue where it is going and decides to just take a nap. I wasn't expecting a flashy, fast pace crime caper film but I wasn't expecting to not get sucked into the story and have the two hours and crumbs of its running time feel like it is taking twice that amount of time to get somewhere. I could feel each second slowly chug its way around the clock and I wasn't able to get fully invested in the film to the point where the time just flew.
Did I think "American Hustle" was bad? No. Were my expectations too high? Quite possibly. I enjoyed a lot about the film but my inability to completely consume myself into the story and plot made the film just okay in my book. But that comb-over is top shelf stuff and I hope to one day rock something half as decent!
Greetings there, potential new best friend! Feel like reading more of my rants, ramblings, bad jokes, geek references, and movie reviews (including a more in-depth look at "American Hustle" and ones that are a lot less 70s)? If so, you can head to my blog; revronmovies.blogspot.com. If not, I wish you a good day anyway!