With The Wolf of Wall Street, Scorsese tried to use his Goodfellas template to tackle corporate (as well as individual) greed and - with some exceptions, failed to sustain the same energy and humor as his earlier film. During the same Oscar cycle, writer/director David O. Russell tried and succeeded in making a winking, winning application of the Casino playbook to a different racket. The story of con men, gangsters, and the agents who try to tame them, American Hustle works as both loving parody and pure, frenetic entertainment.
And what entertainment it is - the relationship between con artists Irving (Christian Bale) and Sydney (Amy Adams) is a fascinating blend of grift and a true union of kindred bullshitters, the rivalry between Irving and Richie (Bradley Cooper) is more humorous than tense, and the scorned Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) is a hilarious, self-damaging fury. These characters' neuroses and plots converge into something both fascinating and messy. From brief moments (Amy Adams screaming on the toilet) to well set-up gags (the "science oven" fire) and running jokes (the ice fishing story), Russell gets laughs while making us understand who - and how ridiculous - these characters are.