Movie Review - American Hustle

American Hustle (2013)

Starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., Jack Huston, and Michael Peña

Directed by David O. Russell

Quite simply, American Hustle is the most overrated movie I've seen as of yet that's gained prevalence during this awards season.  (Captain Phillips is a close second.)  For a movie that is inherently about backstabbing and thievery, there wasn't a moment of tension or excitement and the characters failed to make any impact on me whatsoever.

David O. Russell who directed and co-wrote the picture was also behind the lens and put the pen to paper for last year's Silver Linings Playbook, another film I found to be incredibly overrated and undeserving of the heaps of praise thrown its way.  There's something about Russell's writing style that just doesn't grab me in the slightest (and would also explain why I enjoyed his previous film The Fighter seeing as how he didn't write it).  Silver Linings Playbook felt like two disparate halves that failed to come together.  Similarly, American Hustle is a mishmash of different genres, none of which resonate.  When the comedy is culled from jokes about people's perms or comb-overs or the sassiness of a "New Yawk" broad, it makes me wonder if Russell has any original ideas.

But perhaps Russell wasn't going for original.  Much has been said about American Hustle being Russell's ode to the 1970s films by Scorsese and while that very well be true, that doesn't make this worthwhile.  While the film itself is fictional, it has its basis in true events.  Back in the 1970s, Atlantic City was looking to rebuild its name as the gaming capital of the world.  In order to do so, Camden mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) tries to bribe other politicians to help the city flourish.  You'd think that'd be the basis of the film considering it's a story that could have some depth to it.  You'd be wrong.

Instead, Russell (and co-writer Eric Singer) place the emphasis on Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), a slimy owner of a collection of dry cleaning establishments who has a side business in offering fake loans to people.  At a swinging 1970s shindig, Irving meets Sydney (Amy Adams), a gal from New Mexico who moved to New York looking for a different lifestyle.  She immediately falls for Irving and shows him that she's quite game to help him with his "loan" business, willing to go so far as to create a new identity for herself -- Lady Edith Greensley whose English accent will instinctively make her seem more important to Irving's clients.  One of these clients just happens to be Richie DeMaso (Bradley Cooper), an undercover FBI agent, who manages to catch Irving and Sydney in the act of fraud.  After he arrests the couple, Richie agrees to free them only if they'll assist him in helping him track down even bigger folks committing fraudulent acts.

Throw in some love triangles, a brassy wife for Irving (played way too over-the-top by Jennifer Lawrence), and Robert DeNiro as a mafia kingpin, and American Hustle is just a mess in terms of story.  Much like Silver Linings Playbook, this film just doesn't know what it wants to be.  [I criticize Ms. Lawrence there, but her character's brashness was at least a breath of fresh air in this story, and her scenes, despite not having much to do in terms of advancing the film, were some of the film's best.  However, Lawrence is the one person that I felt you could "see" acting whereas the others embodied their characters more or less.]

Granted, I'll give Russell credit that he does manage to get some nice performances from his group of actors, but overall, the film is a mess.  The costumes were groovy, though!

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker, John Ortiz, Julia Stiles, Anupam Kher, and Jacki Weaver

Directed by David O. Russell

David O. Russell's last film, The Fighter, had a strong focus on family and his follow-up Silver Linings Playbook carries on that familial theme albeit in a bit more comedic tone.  In fact, the odd mix of humor and drama in this flick is the one problem in this otherwise pleasant romantic comedy diversion. Granted, Mr. Russell manages to almost find the proper balance between the two extremes by hour #2, but its first sixty minutes is a tiny bit slow and off kilter.  Still, thanks to a crowd-pleasing finale and some very nice performances, Silver Linings Playbook proves to be moderately successful.

Bradley Cooper takes on his best role since his stint on Alias as Pat, a Philadelphia native who finds himself recently released from a Baltimore mental hospital after eight months of court-ordered examination.  Locked up after he beat up his wife's lover, Pat returns home hoping to have regained control of his anger (and his diagnosed bipolar disorder) allowing him to rekindle his relationship with his wife.  Pat's parents, Dolores and Pat, Sr. (Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro), try to convince Pat to move on with his life, but he's hellbent on proving he's a good guy to those he hurt in the past.  While out running one evening, he comes across his best friend Ronnie (John Ortiz) who invites him to dinner with his wife Veronica (Julia Stiles) and her recently widowed sister Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence).  Like Pat, Tiffany's a little off-the-wall, not quite all there mentally, and still emotionally hurt (on the inside) by her husband's death, but her instability creates a bit of an attraction for Pat.  As the two grow friendlier, Tiffany wants to take things a bit further, but Pat refuses her advances as he still believes that his wife will return to him.  Eventually the story shifts to the unstable duo competing in a dance competition, but it comes as no surprise that "dance" really is just a way of keeping these two centered, allowing themselves to grow into more spiritually, emotionally, and mentally steady people.

Silver Linings Playbook, unfortunately, lacks some groundedness.  Like its two main characters, it's almost searching for what it wants to be.  The first hour places quite serious with some nice comedic punches thrown in, but the last hour is almost sitcommy at times.  I understand David O. Russell was going for a bit of awkward quirkiness, but the film plays like two different movies and it never successfully melds into one cohesive piece.

That being said, the film rises above the average thanks to some great performances.  As previously mentioned, Bradley Cooper has finally stepped out of Douche-Land, a place where he's been stuck in ever since he became a "movie star."  He's still a guy with a hot-headed streak, but Cooper's finally allowed to give a character he portrays some quieter, emotion-driven moments and he succeeds.

It's also a complete pleasure to see Robert De Niro finally choosing a movie that has good intentions.  Just look at his 2011 -- New Year's Eve (which I started watching on a plane ride to Europe and couldn't complete), Killer Elite (which I started watching on Netflix and couldn't complete), and Limitless (which I shouldn't have allowed myself to complete) -- and you'll see how far he's slipped in recent years.  Here he plays a rough-around-the-edges die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan with complete accuracy (just listen to Philly sports radio stations and you'll understand the portrayal).  It was nice to see him commit to a role that isn't in a film that scrapes the bottom of the barrel.

But the true star of Silver Linings Playbook is Jennifer Lawrence.  Tough, strong, feisty, and sweet, Lawrence is fantastic.  She has a scene in which she essentially tells off Robert De Niro (not an easy thing to do with his strong onscreen presence) that is one of the best moments I've seen all year.  Her Tiffany recognizes her foibles and is attempting to better them, but Lawrence never once plays her as a victim which she so easily could have done.

This has been a very difficult review to write because the acting in Silver Linings Playbook deserves a film that better understands itself.  I completely understand the awards buzz for the actors, but the movie plays a bit like a really, really good Hallmark movie.  And maybe that's what it always wanted to be.  Sweet and charming.  And it succeeds at achieving those characteristics.  But I don't think that's all that it wanted to convey.  I think it wants to delve deeper than that, but when it tries, it doesn't really win.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Fighter

The Fighter (2010)

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo

Directed by David O. Russell

I won't pull any punches here (insert rimshot sound) and I'll just say right off the bat that The Fighter is a good film.  Well acted, well directed, and well written, I was never bored during the flick's run time.  However, like most films this year, despite excellent across-the-board technical aspects on display, there wasn't a "wow" factor that made me feel like I needed to watch this movie again anytime in the near future.  I mean, don't get me wrong.  The Fighter is well worth watching and is one of the better films of last year, but 2010 was the year of the "good film" and not the "great film."

At this point, considering the fact that the movie's been out for over two months, there's no need for a synopsis except to say that the flick is based on the true story of boxing brothers Micky Ward and Dickie Eklund with Mark Walhberg taking on the role of nice, but struggling-in-the-ring boxer Micky and Christian Bale tackling the drug-addled, past-his-prime Dickie.  What surprised me the most while watching is that although boxing is the impetus for many of the goings-on in the film, the story is really about a family and the dynamic between two brothers who want the best for each other, but go about attempting to achieve that greatness in different ways.  Ultimately, it's the family struggle (rather than a strict focus on the boxing) that makes this film better than most of the other sports-related "triumph" stories that are a Hollywood staple.

Of course, with three Oscar-nominated acting roles, the talent on the screen is top notch and also helps elevate the flick to a higher level.  Christian Bale is probably one of the greatest actors working today and he doesn't disappoint here.  Getting scarily skinny again (a la The Machinist), Bale injects the drugged-up Dickie with a surprising amount of heart which only makes things even harder for us in the audience when Dickie heads down the wrong path.

Melissa Leo is the front-runner in the Best Supporting Actress race and her role as Micky and Dickie's mother, Alice, could have easily veered into caricature, but Leo somehow manages to never take it there.  To be honest, I'm surprised I liked the role, because every time I saw a clip of the overbearing, thick-accented, sassy broad prior to seeing the movie, I got a hint of the "overacting" vibe emanating from Leo's performance.  In the movie, however, Leo's take on Alice was spot-on.

That being said, I think Amy Adams may have stolen the show despite the fact that her role as Micky's girlfriend Charlene is much more subdued than Leo's.  It's a gritty part unlike any I've seen Ms. Adams tackle before.  She's no Enchanted princess here, but underneath Charlene's gruff exterior is a woman who sees potential in Micky, but is devastated that he's ruining his chances at success by catering to his coked-up brother.

With a surprising amount of humor and heart plus a very tense and exciting final boxing sequence, The Fighter is certainly a good film.  Don't let the first paragraph of this review fool you into thinking otherwise.  

The RyMickey Rating:  B+