Marty and I enjoyed our 45th Anniversary today by seeing not one, but two movies. Like you, we have been so busy we just stayed local and saw Anchorman II – had lunch, walked around and then really enjoyed American Hustle.

Marty and I both give American Hustle a solid A. This could be the first time in memory that four actors from one film are nominated for the Major Awards. They played against type and were all outstanding.

As you may know the screen play loosely follows the nefarious life of Con Man Irving Rosenfield.  Think a small time Bernie Madoff but in the seventies and casting a wider net.

His role was played by Christian Bale and I honestly did not know it was “Batman” until I looked up the cast after the show. Bale must have gained 50 pounds for this role and you won’t believe his hair – think Donald Trump on his worst day in a hurricane.

Bradley Cooper was outstanding as the ambitious FBI Agent who led the charge on the ABSCAM scandal from the late seventies – which all of you in New Jersey will remember well.

Other than my wife of 45 years I can not think of two female actors who were hotter, more sexual, clever and strong than Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams. Jennifer kept both male leads dangling for her as the Leading Female Actor. She was beautiful, smart, conniving and full of surprises. Amy Adams looks nothing like the young woman you may have seen in the two Hunger Games flicks. While they both looked great there was no wardrobe malfunction and no sex. They did, however, give the viewers plenty opportunities to think about it.

Jeremy Renner and Robert DeNiro were also excellent but had less time on the screen. DeNiro’s role was so short it could be described as a cameo appearance.

Will you miss a lot if you wait for the small screen? Probably not but American Hustle is an excellent movie so if you go out occasionally for a flick you don’t want to miss this one.

Anchorman II – now that’s a different kettle of fish. The movie is 119 minutes long and 24 of them were funny and the last 15 minutes were absolutely hilarious – especially if you saw Anchorman I. However, that wasn’t enough to save this flick for us. There was just too much dead space. Marty and I both gave Anchorman II a C+. If you don’t like Will Ferrell’s interpretation of slapstick comedy you may give it even a lower grade.

Anchorman II is a definite wait for home rental or to be safe wait for it to come out on one of the Premium Channels for free. Your life will go on just fine without it.

Larry