And the award goes to....American Hustle

My husband and I decided to see American Hustle tonight.  We planned on either that or Anchorman 2, but went with American Hustle since it was barely earlier and more of what I was in the mood for.  Lately, we haven't been able to get time away from our kids so we wanted to make the most of it.  Our youngest is sick with a viral infection known as RSV.  It's like a cold, but mostly just for babies.  It sucks.  He isn't sleeping well, he's unusually fussy, and his poor nose is all snotty.  Worst of all is his terrible cough.  He gets so red in the face and starts wheezing if you don't clear his nose out.  He's been to the doctor so we know that the only real thing we can do is use a saline spray and give him baby Tylenol if his temperature gets too high.  That and wait it out.  Seriously, there is almost nothing more pathetic than a sick baby.

Anyway, back to my original point.  This film is different than you might expect.  The characters are impressively well-acted and the writing turns out to not be so much writing as improvisation and it's also impressive.  Christian Bale is so much better than a lot of people probably realize.  Anyone remember a little movie called American Psycho?  Yeah, that's right, Batman used to be a serial killer.  Seriously, it's easy for the better roles to be overshadowed by the more publicized cheesy roles.  Don't get me wrong, I love the Batman movies.  I don't even mind Christian Bale's Batman voice.  Kevin Conroy, from the animated series did the same sort of thing, creating a separate sound for Batman versus Bruce Wayne.  That's right, Superman, Bruce uses more than glasses and a cheap suit to disguise his alter ego.  

But seriously, Christian Bale is incredibly talented.  Jeremy Renner doesn't look like Jeremy Renner and even Robert De Niro looks dissimilar to Robert De Niro as we know him (although he plays someone intimidating, which is just like De Niro).  Bradley Cooper is one of the only people that comes off much like his other roles, most notably Silver Linings Playbook.  

You know who was a surprise, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence.  Every time I see Jennifer Lawrence in a movie, I think the same thing.  She is Katniss.  She is seventeen.  Then we saw her in Winter's Bone.  Her character is tough as nails, rough, yet protective of those she loves.  Sounds like Hunger Games, right?  Still, she is really good in Winter's Bone and proves she can make you believe she is someone other than Katniss.  When I saw she was in Silver Linings, I kept thinking, no way, she's seventeen, and then I saw the movie and she was completely believable as her character.  She really commits to her roles.  You wonder at the end of her movies if it's really the same girl that was in Hunger Games.  American Hustle is a lot like that.  When you see who her character is and how she relates to the others, you think, Jennifer Lawrence?  Really?  The answer is yes.

Amy Adams.  We see her in Enchanted and Muppets and think that's all she is.  Song and dance, which she's really good at by the way.  When she was cast as Lois Lane in Man of Steel, I thought that was perfect.  Somehow it made sense.  Seeing her in the movie proved that to be true.  But this, this was acting.  Her character is alluring, charming, smart, and broken.  I really wanted her to save herself.  I was just so sad for her.  I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say that I came to see Amy Adams in a new light.  I always liked her, but now I can really respect her acting as well as her singing and dancing.  It was nice seeing her less made up, less pretty.  Good for her.