American Hustle (DVD REVIEW)
American
Hustle
DVD
Review by Kam Williams
Ten-Time
Oscar-Nominated Dramedy Due on DVD
In the late Seventies, a half-dozen
Congressmen along with a United States Senator were caught on camera taking
bribes from FBI agents posing as wealthy Arab sheiks. The elaborate sting in
which the disgraced politicians became ensnared was code named Abscam, a
contraction of Arab Scam.
American Hustle is a
visually-dazzling retro dramedy revolving around a fictionalized account of
that embarrassing chapter of the nation’s history, Set in New York and New
Jersey against the gaudy backdrop of the decadent Disco Music era, the film was
written and directed by David O. Russell, Hollywood’s go-to guy blessed with
the golden touch in recent years.
His Silver Linings Playbook landed
eight Academy Award nominations and netted Jennifer Lawrence 2013’s Best
Actress Oscar. That picture arrived close on the heels of The Fighter, which
had garnered seven Oscar nominations en route to trophies for both Christian
Bale and Melissa Leo in acting categories.
This flick landed ten nominations,
but won nary an Oscar, despite a plethora of powerful performances, including Christian
Bale’s as con artist Irving Rosenfeld and Amy Adams’ as his equally-mischievous
British mistress, Sydney. They play a pair of small-time crooks pressured to
help the Feds catch bigger fish in order to avoid prosecution.
Reluctantly, they cooperate with
Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), an ambitious, if flamboyant, FBI agent who
draws attention to himself by curling his straight hair and wearing trendy
clothes. Self-protective Sydney
flirts shamelessly with the fashionable G-Man, feeling little loyalty towards
her partner in crime who’s dragging his feet about filing for a divorce from
his wife.
But when blowsy Rosalyn Rosenfeld
(Jennifer Lawrence) realizes that her philandering hubby has been cheating, the
trashy loudmouth decides to bring the drama, getting even by seducing a shady
character (Jack Huston) she has no idea is under government surveillance.
Generating great hilarity, these tawdry love triangles escalate into
attention-grabbing distractions that threaten to wreck the supposedly covert
operation.
Meanwhile, the naive Mayor of Camden
(Jeremy Renner) is being manipulated by Irving to introduce a notorious mob
boss (Robert De Niro) as well as the aforementioned corrupt politicians to
Sheik Abdullah (Michael Pena). However, the hapless FBI looks more like the
Keystone Cops when the agent trying to pass as an Arab can’t speak his native
language when challenged.
Who knows whether any of the
ridiculous incidents recreated here ever actually transpired? But guess what?
You don’t really worry about the truth when the laughs just keep coming and the
witty repartee remains so inspired.
Another memorable masterpiece
cleverly crafted by the oh so talented David O!
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated R
for sexuality, pervasive profanity and brief violence.
Running time: 138
minutes
Distributor: Sony
Pictures Home Entertainment
Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
Extras: The Making of American Hustle; and deleted and extended scenes.
To see a trailer for
American Hustle, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqgjPRNRDSY
To order a copy of the American
Hustle Blu-ray/DVD combo pack,
visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00GMV8LIO/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20
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