12 Years Later, Jennifer Lawrence’s Star-Studded Heist Movie Is a Shocking Streaming Hit

More than a decade after it cleaned up awards-season nominations (but somehow walked away empty-handed), American Hustle is officially back in the conversation. David O. Russell’s slick, chaotic 2013 crime drama has surged to #6 on Paramount+, proving that star power, great performances, and a little bit of retro chaos never really go out of style.

Released one year after Christian Bale wrapped his run as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, American Hustle let him immediately pivot into something completely unhinged. Bale stars as Irving Rosenfeld, a con man with a combover that deserves its own IMDb page, who teams up with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) and is forced into working for an unpredictable FBI agent played by Bradley Cooper. Things spiral fast when their sting operation collides with New Jersey’s political underworld and the mafia.

The cast alone feels unreal in hindsight. Alongside Bale, Adams, and Cooper, the film also stars Jennifer Lawrence as Rosalyn, Irving’s volatile wife; Jeremy Renner as a dangerously ambitious mayor; and Michael Peña in a memorable supporting role. It’s the kind of lineup studios dream of — and audiences still show up for.

Critically, American Hustle was a juggernaut. The film holds a Certified Fresh 92% critics’ score and a 74% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it grossed $251 million worldwide on a modest $40 million budget. At the 2014 Academy Awards, it earned 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, acting nods for Bale, Adams, Cooper, and Lawrence, plus recognition for editing, costumes, production design, and screenplay. It led the nominations that year — but famously lost every category, with several awards going to 12 Years a Slave.

Is ‘American Hustle’ Worth Seeing?

Collider’s review of the film admitted that, while it has many aspects of it that should have made it a slam dunk, the film was just less than the sum of its parts, which is a true disappointment given the talent on board.

“I really wanted American Hustle to hook me, and the film is constantly alluring. There are good ideas stewing about, the performances are captivating, and this is definitely the time for movies about The American Dream™. Unfortunately, it’s as phony as combovers, British accents, perms, and polyester suits. Thankfully, Russell’s picture never comes off as self-important; it’s simply misguided. American Hustle is so busy relishing lies that it never builds to finding an insightful truth.”

American Hustle is streaming now on Paramount+.

Release Date

December 3, 2013

Runtime

138 minutes

Director

David O. Russell

Writers

Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell