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American Hustle.
American Hustle was awesome!  It was no doubt, one of my favorite 2013 Holiday films.  In my opinion, what made American Hustle so good, as compared to The Wolf of Wall Street, is that there was a redeeming quality to the storyline.  And even some of the characters who did bad things were truly likable, e.g., Irving Rosenfeld and Mayor Carmine Polito.  I was surprised that I found myself rooting for Rosenfeld and Polito—but I did.
I like Rosenfeld because he “seemingly” had a conscience, maybe because he had a heart, or maybe because he didn’t pretend to be somebody he was not.  I also liked Carmine Polito.  He seemed to be a genuinely great guy—he treated his constituents with respect, tried to do what he could to create a better community for the people of Camden, and his actions demonstrated how much he loved his wife and family. Like Rosenfeld, Polito seemed real.
My least favorite character was of course the sleazebag FBI Agent DiMaso.  He held himself out as a good guy, wearing the white hat, acting in the name of justice.  While all along, he was a bad guy and did anything he wanted to get what he wanted—regardless of who he hurt.  Interestingly, his character made me think of Eliot Ness (The Untouchables) and Olivia Pope (Scandal)—two characters who hold themselves out as the good guys, but who are immensely inappropriate in how they get the job done—hurting anyone and everyone along the way.
Aside from loving the storyline, the acting was superb.  Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner were all excellent. Although I must say, in the few interviews where I’ve seen Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, their American Hustle characters seem to be very much aligned with who they appear to be in in real life. So is it really acting if you play yourself? In any event, the movie was awesome and the acting rocked.
It took me back to The Sting, which is one of my favorite movies with 2 of my all-time favorite actors—Paul Newman and Robert Redford.  Great job and definitely Oscar worthy.
I’m Attorney, Speaker, Author Francine Ward.   Feel free to join the conversation on my Esteemable Acts Facebook Page, my Esteemable Acts Twitter Page, or in one of my LinkedIn Groups.

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