Do the hustle!! The American Hustle, that is. (I'm so sorry)

American Hustle follows a fiendishly gifted con man named Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale). He and his partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) have been living the sweet life, thriving off their supreme con artists skills when the rug is abruptly pulled from under them by FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). Good ol' Richie-boy wants Irving and Sydney to work for him, bringing down various mob bosses and corrupt politicians with their conning skills. It doesn't matter so much if the politicians are actually corrupt; it's more important to Richie that he goes down in the books as the one who brings them all to justice. One such politician is the beloved Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) who unwittingly gets caught up in their game. Meanwhile Irving's wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) watches from the sidelines, causing all manner of trouble for her husband and his bumbling band of boneheads.

This is easily one of the most entertaining films I've seen all year. I wasn't a fan of 2012's Silver Linings Playbook, but writer/director David O Russell bounces right back with this ambitious, highly enjoyable effort. It's kind of like a madcap version of Martin Scorcese's Goodfellas, kickass soundtrack and all. It never quite manages to reach the heights of that mobster classic, but what movie does? American Hustle breezes by during its nearly 140 minute runtime and features superb performances from its star-studded cast. How can you pick a favorite when you've got the likes of Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence in the mix. (Isn't it interesting that all of them have starred or will star in a comic book film by the end of the year?) Bale is masterful as always, disappearing into his role as the overweight, balding con artist Irving. Adams is ever so seductive as Irving's partner Sidney; Cooper is exquisitely conniving as FBI agent Richie and rounding out the mix we have Lawrence and Renner, both of whom are amazing in every which way.

CONCLUSION: There's very little to not love about American Hustle. Its final act may not be as strong as the ones that precede it, but the entire package more than makes up for this. It has an unpretentious nature that contributes a whole lot to its charm and much of this is thanks to the excellent screenplay and energetic direction of O Russell. Easily one of 2013's best.

FINAL RATING: 4/5