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AMERICAN HUSTLE: Early Reviews & MPAA Rating

David O.Russell’s ‘ American Hustle’ Wows At First Industry Screening

Awards Columnist Pete Hammond
Another piece of the Oscar season puzzle was unveiled Sunday night when Sony held the first major screening of David O. Russell’s American Hustle (12/13) on their Culver City lot at the Cary Grant Theatre. The packed crowd was largely made up of SAG and a few Academy members plus select press. Since this and Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf Of Wall Street (12/25 and which begins screening at the end of the month) have been the two remaining question marks before we have a clear view of the complete competitive landscape, the unveiling of this one was hotly anticipated. It was definitely the place to be. In fact one New York-based consultant working on the film flew in Sunday afternoon specifically for the screening and flew back on the red eye immediately afterwards.

If rivals were hoping it would be a bust, or the very least a disappointment I hate to bring them the bad news. Although formal reviews are verboten until early next month  I can say that from my vantage point Russell, who has seen his last two films Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and The Fighter (2010) nominated for Best Picture and Director as well as taking some acting Oscars, has another winner with a film that will have strong appeal particularly in the actors branch and at SAG.

I also think, even in this fiercely contested year,  Best Picture, Director , Screenplay, Editing and Costume nods could be in the cards  along with any number of possibilities for its superb ensemble including lead actor Christian Bale, lead actress Amy Adams, supporting actors Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner and supportng actress Jennifer Lawrence.  Especially Jennifer Lawrence. She is simply dazzling as Bale’s  wife , a total knockout scene-stealer throughout. If she hadn’t already won last year as Best Actress for Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, there is no doubt she might be unbeatable here. At 23 years old and the star of this weekend’s all-time November record breaker The Hunger Games: Catching Fire she may well become the front runner anyway to take back- to- back Academy Awards after this performance gets seen. It’s prime Oscar bait.  

The actors, including voters, I spoke to afterwards were clearly blown away. In fact the entire cast, which also includes a terrific unbilled one -scene cameo from Robert De Niro (who was nominated last year for Silver Linings) will certainly figure heavily for the SAG Outstanding Cast of a Motion Picture award. One person connected to the film to whom I spoke said early reaction had been on the mixed side but I couldn’t detect that at this screening. It was all upbeat. Time will tell.
At last week’s Governors Awards Russell told me he simply couldn’t pass up the chance to do this film which offered strong roles for stars of his last two films  and so Bale and Adams from The Fighter joined Cooper , Lawrence and De Niro from Silver Linings. I remember Russell talking about prepping this film  while at the same time hitting the awards circuit last year. Somehow despite all that he has pulled it off.

The film, loosely based on the 70′s Abscam government sting operation which nailed several members of Congress, involves Bale and Adams in a con game where they team up with an out-of-control FBI agent played by Cooper. Bale is remarkable and, in customary fashion for him, put on 40 pounds and shaved his head so he could create a hairstyle with a god-awful combover. Adams is complex and excellent and Cooper, sporting a perm , matches his Oscar -nominated work in Silver Linings. Renner , even though playing a corrupt but likeable politician , also shines as the soul of this enterprise.

Russell’s last two films netted a total of seven acting nominations  and three wins . I would expect more of the same this time. The director has a knack for getting the best from his performers and there is verve, excitement , energy and top-of-their-game  acting in just about every frame. Russell puts these characters in your face and it’s something. It would be hard to imagine the actors branch passing this up despite killer competition in every category this year.

Afterwards Russell, Adams, Renner, co-star Elisabeth Rohm, editor Jay Cassidy, costume designer Michael Wilkinson and casting director Mary Vernieu appeared for a 40 minute Q-and-A. Although it is loosely  based on real -life events  Russell took Eric Singer’ s existing screenplay and did what Renner termed was a page- one rewrite. He gave the characters priority. “The love triangle and emotions are the center of the piece. I love the way people walk and talk and dress as much as I love the story,” Russell said.  Rohm added, “With David  it’s all about the truth. You can discover  things in moments”.  The actors all said it was a free-flowing atmosphere on set with ever changing script pages . Editor Cassidy , who also won an Oscar nomination for Silver Linings , echoed that when he said in the editing room, “I got to be there for the final re-write”. There was also improv.  In fact Adams, who doesn’t often take credit,  said a scene in which she impulsively grabs Lawrence in the ladies room and kisses her full-on on the lips was actually her idea and she praised Lawrence for making it work. “She’s amazing. She’s fearless. I’m fearful  but I will do anything except I will do it with a lot of thought.  Unless Jennifer is keeping a secret though , she’s completely fearless,”  she said.

American Hustle itself  is a fearless piece of American cinema and more evidence that David O. Russell is really on a roll.  It’s my guess that Sony can add this one to Captain Phillips (which passed $100 million at the boxoffice this weekend) to their list of true contenders this season.

Jennifer Lawrence steals 'American Hustle' - Is Oscar #2 next?

In a movie full of con artists,  Jennifer Lawrence steals "American Hustle" as a dimwit floozy married to low-class shyster. She could easily pull off an Oscars heist next and do what no other star has ever done: win in a supporting race one year after prevailing in lead. That may seem unlikely if viewed as a demotion for today's hottest screen diva (thank you, "Hunger Games"), but Ingrid Bergman and Gene Hackman both took the step down after reigning in lead. However, there were many years in between their multiple wins.

Oscar nominations are also possible for Amy Adams and Christian Bale in lead and Bradley Cooper in supporting – all of them shine in colorful roles rich with psycho-comic complexity. Adams has the best shot at winning. This year the lead actress race is overstuffed with older past champs and voters usually lust after babes, of course, especially ones who are overdue. Adams is Oscarless after four past losses.

"American Hustle" will also be nominated for Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay and lots of crafts. It could bag hair and makeup, but the big nagging question is: Can it win Best Picture? Yes, if it picks up kudos momentum at the critics' awards. Up till now, it looked like "12 Years a Slave" had those trophies from New York and Los Angeles in the bag, but now "Hustle" offers the journos a fun quirky alternative that has art-house cred thanks to Russell's sainted status among cineastes.

Beware: "Wolf of Wall Street" will pounce on the derby very soon. Screenings start around Dec. 1. At that point will have a better idea of the top Oscar races and we can firm up our predictions, but for now it is safe to say that "American Hustle" lives up to early expectations and it poses a serious threat ahead.

Jennifer Lawrence Steals the Show in ‘American Hustle’ First Screening

SAG audience responds warmly to first guild showing of David O. Russell film, while Amy Adams dishes on showing skin and kissing J-Law 

“American Hustle,” the David O. Russell film that has been considered a possible last-minute spoiler in this year’s awards race, was unveiled to Oscar watchers on Sunday in Santa Barbara and in Culver City on the Sony lot, and the initial verdict was … all over the place.

Early reactions on social media talked of a standing ovation for Russell at the Santa Barbara Film Society screening on Sunday afternoon, and of scattered boos at a SAG Nominating Committee screening on the Sony lot that night. I wasn’t in Santa Barbara so I can’t vouch for the ovation, but I was at Sony and certainly didn’t hear any boos.

Instead, the audience responded warmly, with applause that started immediately but died out relatively quickly.

The film doesn’t go down as smoothly as Russell’s last, “Silver Linings Playbook”; it’s odder and more ambitious, the kind of film that deserves contemplation rather than a rush to judgment.

While reviews are embargoed for another week, social-media reactions were permitted on Russell’s raucous drama, which is based on the FBI’s Abscam sting operation of the 1970s. Its cast is an all-star lineup from Russell’s two previous films: Christian Bale and Amy Adams from “The Fighter,” Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper from “Silver Linings Playbook,” a cameo from “SLP” costar Robert DeNiro and, for a change of pace, a central role for the new-to-Russell Jeremy Renner.

The first tweet after the SAG screening came from In Contention’s Kris Tapley, who posted “’American Hustle’ is … okay.” Awards Daily’s Sasha Stone followed with “Enjoyed much of ‘American Hustle.’ Juicy performances throughout. Need second viewing to fully absorb.” And David Poland was more enthusiastic: “’American Hustle’ looks like double digit Oscar nods, pretty easily.”

If there was any kind of unanimous verdict, it was that Jennifer Lawrence steals the show as the wife of Bale’s character, a con-man who is forced to help the FBI with a sting that aims to take down mobsters and corrupt politicians.

And talk of Lawrence was the highlight of the post-screening Q-and-A, when Amy Adams was asked about a showstopping scene in which her character and Lawrence’s character hurl vicious insults at each other, and then end the encounter with a forceful kiss that brought applause from the SAG audience.

“I don’t take credit for a lot of things, but that was my idea,” said Adams. “I don’t know why. Maybe I just wanted to kiss Jennifer. She’s just so cute.”

The Q-and-A also included Russell, Renner, actress Elisabeth Rohm, editor Jay Cassidy, costume designer Michael Wilkinson and casting director Mary Vernieu.

The director called the film “the third part of a character and rhythm reinvention that started with ‘The Fighter,’” and said he and Bale had a backyard conversation in which they realized why the material – in which almost every character is assuming a new identity at some point – appealed to them.

“Everybody in the world plays a part every day,” Russell said. “That’s what interested us.”

He also said that the film, which is essentially a drama with comic moments that almost reach farcical proportions at times, lives up to its title card billing: “Some of this actually happened.” As for what in the film actually happened, he offered this: “If I told you what was true, you wouldn’t believe it.”

The film’s disco-era wardrobe also got lots of attention, with Wilkinson talking about how he had to create some brand new ‘70s clothes when they couldn’t find the right vintage garments, and Adams adding that her character’s relentlessly plunging necklines had already caused problems at home.
“My daughter is three and a half,” she said. “She looked at the poster and said, ‘Why do you show your boobs?’”


Off the Carpet: 'American Hustle' finally enters the Oscar race

The film's true stand-outs, in my humble opinion, weren't present. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are fantastic in the film. Lawrence in particular buzzes on the screen in such a way that the film — which I actually found pretty flat for the most part — really jumps to life when she's on screen. I wouldn't be surprised to see her become the most recognized element of the cast: her biggest moment in the film got a mid-screening burst of applause from the largely SAG audience.

Cooper, meanwhile, drills down so much and seems to just really spark in his collaborations with Russell. As a major detractor of "Silver Linings Playbook," I nevertheless thought he was exceptional in that film and he's almost possessed here. It's strange to say that Bale — who, again, is great — is a bit out-shined by two other actors, but I suppose it had to happen eventually. And an ensemble as bursting at the seams with talent as this is formidable for any actor to stand out against.

Adams, though, feels like a bit of a weak link. It's not all her fault. The script seems to under-serve where she's coming from considerably and she feels like a cypher as a result. She also sports a dodgy English accent (used as a cover by her character), but I suppose one could argue that it's her character that's having trouble with the accent rather than Adams (if that makes sense). And without digging too deep into things here, I'll also just say that, as has been pretty obvious through set photos, official stills and trailers for a number of months, Michael Wilkinson's costume design is a hugely vibrant element of this production. He could indeed be on track for his first-ever Oscar nomination.

The film itself frankly seems a bit undercut by its position in the awards season. It's certainly entertaining in spurts, but it might have been better served as a fun caper film released in the spring instead of bringing with it the rally cry of "Oscar contender." Admittedly, Russell's track record as of late sort of sets it up for that anyway, but still. Sony made the right move getting "The Monuments Men" out of that ether. I wonder if it wouldn't have been a wise decision here, too.

But what do I know? The film got a standing ovation earlier Sunday afternoon at a Santa Barbara Cinema Society screening and seemed to be a big hit with the audience I saw it with. Actors relish what's going on with this cast, of course, so the Screen Actors Guild could well chalk it up in a number of categories, not least of which could be the ensemble field. And if so, that'll just become more ammunition for the Oscar cause.




UPDATED 15:55 PM


Why Jennifer Lawrence Kissed Amy Adams, and 6 OtherThings You Need to Know About American Hustle
I'll be honest with you, dear reader: There were times during the making of American Hustle that I wondered if it was all just an elaborate front for a Sony-sponsored slumber party thrown by director David O. Russell, a fun-filled night of dress-up in which Russell and several of his favorite actors (including Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence) raided Mom and Dad's closet for groovy seventies fashions and then staged an elaborate, truly outrageous hair show. It would have been an appropriate ruse, given that the movie is about pulling outsize long cons, but no: Turns out American Hustle is a bona fide, honest-to-goodness feature film, and it screened for the very first time in Los Angeles yesterday (with Russell and most of his cast in attendance), leaving only The Wolf of Wall Street as this awards season's final movie to unspool for press. Though reviews are still embargoed, here are eight things we can already tell you about American Hustle.

What It's About
If you're just now catching up, the seventies-set American Hustle is loosely based on the real-life ABSCAM scandal, which ensnared several members of Congress for taking bribes; the title card that begins the movie teases, "Some of this actually happened." In Russell's telling, the sting comes about when an ambitious FBI agent (played by a curly haired Cooper) enlists two con-artist lovers (Bale and Adams) in a bribery scam that will take down a kind-hearted but susceptible New Jersey mayor (Jeremy Renner). In addition to the ABSCAM operation, both Bale and Adams are pulling some cons on the side: The tomcatting Bale's got a hot-tempered wife at home (Lawrence), while Adams is a former stripper from New Mexico who's forged an upper-class identity that comes complete with a posh British accent.
Russell considers American Hustlethe third part of his own reinvention, one that began with The Fighterand now, after the Oscar-winning Silver Linings Playbook, makes him something of a study when it comes to tightly wound East Coast characters trying to eke out their small place in the world. "I love romance, I love rhythm, and I love the way people talk and dress deeply," said Russell. "That enchants me."

Everyone Is Playing Against Type
Russell clearly delighted in his counter-intuitive casting: Bale gained 50 pounds and donned a fake comb over and Austin Powers chest rug to play his seventies sleazeball, Cooper sublimated his Sexiest Man Alive good looks and curled his hair to hilarious effect as the live-wire FBI agent who finds himself attracted to Adams, while the formerEnchanted star — who's so often cast in good-girl roles — sexes herself up considerably for American Hustle, offering up enough side-boob in her plunging dresses to power an entire Huffington Post vertical. (Adams says her 3-year-old child is already razzing her for the role: Every time they pass a poster for the film, her daughter asks, "Mommy, why are you showing your boobs?")

Robert De Niro and Louis C.K. Are Also in This Movie
You wouldn't know it from the trailers, but an unbilled Robert De Niro cameos in American Hustle as a wary mobster who gets entangled in the ABSCAM scheme. (It's not exactly playing against type, but one suspects De Niro was doing Russell a solid after earning an Oscar nod for Silver Linings Playbook.) Even better, Louis C.K. has a supporting role as Cooper's superior at the FBI. I don't want to spoil too much, but Cooper has a fight scene with Louis C.K. in which he smacks him in the head with a telephone; later, after the two are in a better place, a giddy Cooper simulates humping him. What I'm trying to tell you is that you ought to start anticipating that GIF set right now.

There Is a Scene in Which Jennifer Lawrence Sings "Live and Let Die"...
... while wearing yellow rubber gloves and an absolutely tremendous updo. (It's one of several singing scenes in the movie; Russell says he added a bit where Renner belts out the Tom Jones classic "Delilah" because he was so charmed when Renner sang on Saturday Night Live.) If you need even further enticement when it comes to instant-classic J. Law moments, read on.

Yes, Jennifer Lawrence Kisses Amy Adams

Lawrence and Adams don't share much screen time in American Hustle — the former is Christian Bale's surly wife, and the latter is his sexy mistress, and he therefore endeavors to keep them as separate as possible — but when they do meet up in the middle of the movie, sparks inevitably fly. The scene takes place in a hotel bathroom, and after the two glamorously attired women throw plenty of pointed barbs at each other, Lawrence unexpectedly lurches forward to plant a long, sustained kiss on her adversary's lips. As she teeters away, a shocked Adams stands stock still, another woman's lipstick smeared all over her mouth. "I don't take credit for a lot of things," Adams noted after the movie, "but that was my idea." Russell called it "a period to their toxic good-bye," but Adams mused, "Maybe I just wanted to kiss Jennifer. She's so cute!"

The Year of Heavily Redubbed Roles Continues
Three's a trend! After Jodie Foster re-recorded her Elysium role to sound slightly less French, and Cameron Diaz was called in for ADR once her character in The Counselor proved too vocally similar to Rihanna,American Hustle gives us another actress with great big gobs of dialogue piped in after the fact. This one's a little tricky: Amy Adams plays a character who's affecting a British accent to better sell her schemes, but for the first twenty minutes of the movie, in all the scenes in which Adams is supposed to be speaking in her normal voice to her confidante and lover Christian Bale, her dialogue is distractingly dubbed. Russell explained after the screening that he actually asked Adams to use a British accent in many of the early scenes — it seems they weren't sure while shooting how far they should take her character's accent ruse. They may still be figuring it out: According to Russell's editor, they'll be tweaking the movie up until its December 13 release date.

Will It Shake Up the Oscar Race?
Russell's last two films were nominated for Best Picture and earned nominations (and even awards) for all the actors who came back for American Hustle; it's only fair, then, to wonder whether this one will continue his hot streak. Let me start with the two actors who I think have the best odds of being nominated: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Cooper is absolutely terrific in the movie, and at times he's the only truly sympathetic character (perhaps even more so than Russell intended, given the way events in the movie shake out). It's an incredibly amped performance that feels distinct from Cooper's Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook role; expect him to squeeze into the race for Best Supporting Actor. And then there's J. Law: After the film ended, the blogger in front of me mused out loud, "Is Jennifer Lawrence gonna get anotherOscar?" I wouldn't go that far, but she's likely to score a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the very least, since her muckraking character provides some of the movie's best moments (even if her accent sometimes feels a little shaky).

It's going to be a little bit harder for Bale and Adams. The former will be trying to break into the most crowded Best Actor category in recent years, and though he gives a fully committed, transformative performance, Bale's character takes a backseat in the second half of the movie. Adams might have a better shot at a nomination; I heard some mixed reviews aimed her way after the movie, but the Academy loves Adams (over the last eight years, she's been nominated four times), and there's no denying that she has a ton to play here.

And then there's Picture, Director, and Screenplay. Will American Hustle pull these three off? I suspect so. You could say that the film is still a little woolly and that several scenes could use a little bit more refinement in the editing room, but I felt the exact same way about Django Unchained last year, and those criticisms proved no impediment to Academy voters. Whether the movie can actually pull off an Oscar win is a whole other question, but if there's one point that American Hustle drives home repeatedly, it's that you should never, ever count someone out: They might just have a big surprise up their sleeve, and they're simply waiting for the perfect time to play it.


UPDATED 11/27/2013

Rated R For pervasive language, some sexual content and brief violence




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