American Hustle

[sjankis630]

I guess i am the first to go and see this one? I just saw it over the weekend and I will start off and say it was a good movie.
I am not saying that it is great, only merely good. It has some very fine actors in it with some fine performances, but everyone knew that going in. Maybe it was the hype, but it took me about 30 min before I warmed up to the picture.
I have been trying to think what it was that took me out of it so early, but at this moment I am not entirely sure. I just felt at about the 25 min mark I was like, "Why am I not feeling this one?" The story really takes its time getting going out of the blocks.
Jennifer Lawrence has what I would call a supporting role and I would even go as far to say that there are really only three principle actors and one supporting actress - Ms Lawrence. She was good, but of the 4 actors in the flick, she had what I would consider to be the easier role - playing the wacky wife with plenty of scenery to chew.
At the moment the movie seems more workmanlike to me - if I can use a quote from another site - and the longer I sat there the better it felt to me. I hope others here get a chance to go out and see it for yourselves. This may be one where i have to come back to see it in a couple of years and have a greater appreciation.

[Deleted]

You've articulated my feelings on it very well. The performances were good, and I thought Lawrence was hilarious, but it just didn't really gel for me. I felt like something was missing.

I will say though that they did an excellent job of making Massachusetts look like NYC and New Jersey. Except the Wang Theatre, I'd know that anywhere.

[Hamatron]

I think the flick is a little hard to get into because the first fifteen or so minutes are the main three actors yelling and having drama and action without explanation. Then it goes into flashback. So the first thirty or so minutes is about figuring out what is going on, then getting everyone up to speed for what is the midpoint of the movie. The there's some grade a scenery chewing from... Well, everyone. And then the climax is there.

That said, I liked it. I thought it was fun, though it wasn't super deep or profound or anything.

[jynni]

Thought it was good, not great. A very solid film with some excellent performances. I think the pacing and setup of the first 30-45 minutes could've used a re-work as the movie takes forever to get going. There was no sense of urgency or anything until the mob boss showed up.

Amy Adams deserves an Oscar for this. She was brilliant. Lawrence was great in her supporting role. She's still great at blending in to a character even though she's very much becoming a "name" right now.

Blown away by Christian Bale and I usually don't say that about him. Spent the entire movie trying to figure out who the actor playing Irving was as I didn't know Bale was in it. He should get another Oscar for this.

Everyone else was good, though Bradly Cooper very much rehashed his Silver Linings Playbook character and seemed a little one-note. I think he was a little out classed by the rest of the cast.

[sjankis630]

Bale was my favorite too, although how could you not know it was him? Lol.
His part near the end when he went to try and help the mayor's family was so good it was painful for me to watch.
I don't know about the Oscar hype as I have not seen a ton of the other movies it is up against. This one better not be nominated for director or editing though.

[bailey]

Just saw it, and really enjoyed it. I am continuing to be impressed by Amy Adams, and thought that Jennifer Lawrence was really good. Loved the scenes that these two shared, they had lots of electricity. I loved all of the period references, clothes and music, they paid really good attention to detail. And I actually remember ABSCAM, so it rang true. Now, I read about the movie before I went to see it, and think that probably helped, it would have been really difficult to get into the story if you didn't know who the characters were, I think. But overall, I enjoyed it, would recommend it, and would see it again.

[forever1267]

When Goodfellas met Boogie Nights, with less porn and more perms.

[cinnacism]

Just saw this last night and LOVED it. Granted, I've never seen a David O. Russell movie I didn't like and before I settled on him, my favorite director was Scorsese (with this type of fare, not Cape Fear, Hugo, Shutter Island, etc) so my love is unsurprising. Some thoughts: I was seriously blown away by the chemistry between Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper. That scene when they kiss for the first time in the condo before he backs away had me riveted. I was soooo looking forward to their hookup...and then when Sidney's reveal to him happened, the chemistry just evaporated! Amazing.

Also noted that all the hair in the movie was mesmerizing. I seriously caught myself wondering what the hair meant (both in general and when styled for specific scenes). I bet the cast got a kick out of it...no one had subtle hair.

Enjoyed the cameos by Louis CK and DeNiro.

I haven't read reviews or interviews so I don't know if the Scorsese feel was deliberate (I can only assume it was), but I was a little annoyed by the constant prominent usage of contemporary pop songs. It's fun as hell, but I think Scorsese uses it in a lazy way to get laughs, drama, or excitement, and I think Russell did too. That said, he picked some great songs. Loved the Arabic version of "White Rabbit."

I didn't find it slow to start personally and though it felt long, I relished it. Adams and Lawrence were the standouts for me (Cooper was weakest). I don't think Jennifer's part was necessarily easy because it was a caricature. I remember specifically when she first saw Amy Adams' character, she held her mouth in a way that you hadn't seen before in the movie, and it just seemed like this primal, instinctive contempt that her character couldn't disguise or moderate. Anyway, I was impressed by both of them.

[Coffeecakes]

I saw the movie a few days ago, and frankly it bored me. I almost turned it off midway. Maybe it comes off better in the theatre?

[Martini Girl]

I absolutely loved it. I thought the acting was top notch; I loved the music and I enjoyed the story. Definitely my favorite Russell film.