Why just recently I re-watched Super 8, a film I held in pretty solid regard back when I first saw it in 2011, only to be completely underwhelmed and disappointed by the film's generic storytelling that places style over the little shoehorned substance it contains. In my memories, I had recalled Super 8 as the complete opposite—a film that placed characterization over mindless spectacle. It is an expected part of life that as we grow, our opinions change and differentiate from our past selves—and sometimes our past opinions can end up being rather cringe-worthy to read, hence what leads me to revisit American Hustle.
Note: This is my second review of American Hustle. Here's my original review from 2013, written back when the film first released.
I still think American Hustle is a good film, possibly teetering on even being a really good film. David Russell is kind of a one-trick pony with his filmography, and American Hustle is him stretching that trick to its fullest. Yet it ends up so spread out in a very ambitious attempt at tackling a multitude of different plot elements and storylines that almost nothing is able to rise to the remarkable. You wouldn't take this away from my original review, however, being nothing less than complete overzealous praise. My opening statement "This movie is creative, inventive, complex, elaborate, well-acted, fantastic, hilarious and above all fun" gives off the impression I saw a masterpiece, emphasized by my later comparison of American Hustle to the likes of Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas. At the time I did believe the film to be a masterpiece—with the review being a prime example of my greenness to cinema and storytelling at the time.
One of the biggest contributing factors towards my change in opinion on American Hustle is the sheer number and variety of films I've seen since first viewing it. A lot of what I saw as fresh and innovative in American Hustle has been done before in previous films, either in a more fluent manner or a downright superior way. The film takes a lot of inspiration from directors like Scorsese, Tarantino, and the Coen Brothers—utilizing similar styles and storytelling techniques—and ends up feeling like a mishmash of these directors's past films without ever forging its own identity. The mishmash isn't bad, however, nor poorly used—I still enjoy the romantic shot of Irving (Christian Bale) and Sydney (Amy Adam) inside the dry cleaning rack, Richie (Bradley Cooper) and Sydney's dramatic entrance by smokescreen, and Stoddard's (Louis C.K.) ice-fishing story that goes nowhere. Yet while fun on their own, they feel inconsistent as a whole—a bunch of various styles artificially strung together in a film that lacks its own identity.
The film's most distinct identity is its opening statement that “Some of this actually happened." It comes across as a tongue-in-cheek jab to the "biographical" films that open by stating the events depicted are true, but then wildly dramatize and/or flat out change major events to fit the narrative for a more "cinematic" approach. Likewise, it can also be taken as a jab towards Fargo's opening, which flat-out lies to the audience about its story being true. I just really appreciate a film that isn't trying to bull**** its audience, and instead opens by saying "Yeah, we based this off true events, but most of it is made up." As far as I’m aware (and I could be wrong here), American Hustle was the first time a film opened with such a statement (with later films copying the style).
One of the biggest opinion shifts between current and pass me is towards the character Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence). I had remembered Rosalyn having more balanced issues with her husband Irving. It completely slipped my mind that while Irving is cheating on her, Rosalyn has been holding him in a blackmailed marriage—using their kid as leverage to keep Irving as her bill payer. Where I once praised the character I now find her infuriating to watch—with her more toxic personality traits outweighing her more pitiful moments and less-than-deserved happy ending. Nonetheless, Jennifer Lawrence delivers an above-average performance as Rosalyn, and where the character's writing deserves scorn, the actor still deserves praise. The acting is one aspect that remains as strong since my initial viewing, especially that of Christian Bale. The scene where Irving reveals his true cards to Mayor Polito (Jeremy Renner) remains a potent scene of dramatic execution, built-up by the film's focus on their growing friendship only to be tragically shattered with no hope of repair.
Breaking apart my original review's opening statement, I don't think American Hustle is as creative and inventive as before. The film is certainly complex, elaborate, and well-acted, but fantastic and hilarious are now too strong of words. American Hustle is an ambitious, fun, and occasionally emotional experience, but does little to raise itself up to anything spectacular. Everything works well in the film but also feels artificial, lacking in genuine passion and originality—being more willing to try and emulate great films of the past. It really saddens me that I feel this way upon revisiting, as I truly went in excited to feel the same exuberance I did back in 2013 when I declared American Hustle my second favorite film of the year and "an extremely refreshing breath of new air for the cinema." American Hustle was sadly not a breath of fresh air for the cinema, rather recycled old air. Currently, I don't think it would even and make my top 10 of 2013. Yet there was a time where this film blew my mind, and while that effect may not have lasted into 2020, it will forever remain with my younger past self.
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