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| Everything is coming up curlers |
Bullshit begins in December of 1979 (with a great moment involving the popular boardgame Operation), but is told in flashbacks leading up to the scene, which include a short snippet of the protagonist Melvin "Mel" Weinberg as a young boy and his relationship to his struggling father who owns a glass business and gets strong-armed by the mob. There's a clever, metaphorical moment (taken from real life) where the boy rides around on his bike breaking every window in sight with his slingshot to help his father out. It also foreshadows the cultural climate that Melvin will have to wade through to succeed as an adult.
In the movie, Christian Bale (who worked with O. Russell in The Fighter as a drug addict) will play Weinberg, a New York Jewish con artist in his mid-50s (Bale is 39) who pawns himself off as a successful businessman connected to high-level investors. Assisted by Maxine "Max" Gardner (Amy Adams, 38) he tricks unsuspecting clients into paying him nominal, but hefty fees, of which the mob gets a cut. Gardner not only reels in marks for Weinberg, but she's his mistress. Max has the sultriness of Adams' Charlene in The Fighter, and reminds me of Holly Hunter's Tammy Hemphill in The Firm. Likely based on Weinberg's British mistress Evelyn Knight two decades younger than him, Max is rough around the edges, but also presents herself professionally. Mel is a doting father married to Marie (Jennifer Lawrence), Melvin's younger Jewish Jersey wife (in her mid-40s during Abscam, she was his second wife and Lawrence is over two decades her junior). Originally in the script, her name was Estelle, she was around his age, and they together had a twelve year old son. I wonder if the major changes to the screenplay had mostly to do with O. Russell wanting to cast his Silver Linings Playbook Oscar winner as one of the main female characters. Along with changing the age of the child, the script may have to address why Mel married and then cheated on such a young woman (unless Singer alters Mel's relationship to Gardner), when he actually did the opposite in real life. [4/12 Note: while perhaps all of Lawrence's scenes were frontloaded into the initial portion of filming, on set photos of he suggest an involvement not seen in the script, as well as plot developments that were non-existant (the neckbrace for example; my memory sucks, but I don't remember Estelle/Marie ever getting in an accident--real or imagined)]
The main storyline, however, concerns Abscam, a special FBI-led investigation into what started with infiltrating mob activity, but, by chance, led to investigating influence peddling (taking bribes) in the highest reaches of the U.S. legislature and resulted in the conviction of several congresspersons, mostly Democrats (many more were targeted but escaped any charges, including representative John Murtha, who later became a vocal opponent of the Iraq War; footage of him meeting with Agent Anthony Amoroso and Weinberg surfaced on the internet around that time, showing him turning down a bribe "for now"). Jimmy Boyle (Bradley Cooper), who may be a composite based on agents Amoroso and John Good (or somebody else entirely) is suave and resourceful and convinces Weinberg to plead out after he busts him and Max on an array of charges. Mel uses his connections to help Boyle catch various gangsters, including Tony Denato, who is in the counterfeit offshore CD business (or some shit I couldn't quite wrap my head around). As it turns out, the thug deals with handsome New Jersey state senator and Camden mayor Angelo "Angie" Errichetti (played by the decade younger Jeremy Renner), who has his hand in the till of the development of Atlantic City and isn't above being bought for the right price. Set against the backdrop of OPEC, Mel gets the idea to create a sheikh investor interested in building a casino, who will be their in to capture Errichetti. Howard Criden, a Philadelphian attorney who serves as a liaison between many of the politicians implicated and the mafia, introduces Mel and the sheikh to another set of gangsters with ties to Meyer Lansky, who smell opportunities for greater expansion, want their cut, and put Mel between a rock and a hard place (I'm left wondering if this was a liberty taken by the script to make Mel seem more sympathetic, where, in fact, the whole situation was more insular than the film is willing to admit). Of course, Boyle smells even bigger fish to fry and discovers a motley crew of six US congressionals in his pan, as well as members of the Philadelphia City Council and an INS inspector. Being under the FBI's thumb, while trying to con politicians and negotiating major mob heat, Mel begins to realize that there is very little hope of getting out free and/or alive and must figure out a way to preserve himself and his livelihood in a world full of (drum-roll, please) bullshit. |
| This hair is ridiculous, right? |
Only the politicians that were eventually implicated are actual people, as well as the protagonist Mel Weinberg and his wife (who went by the name Marie, as she's listed now, not Estelle, like in the original script). The script presents a morally ambiguous lead who is far from perfect, yet whose imperfections are inadvertently justified by growing up in an ethically comprised country. The United States was a great idea, like a lot of religions out there, but, whenever you have most anything involve actual people, the institution will likely be exploited as a means to a greedy end. By default, the American Bullshit version of Weinberg has heroic elements, being a survivalist who is just playing by the unspoken rules set up by those around him. (In other words: Don't hate the player, hate the game.) But, in order to tell the Abscam story, Singer needed to model a character the audience could empathize with in order to be willing to join the journey. (And it works.) Weinberg is also a mentor figure to the FBI, as he teaches them in order to catch their high-rolling criminals, they must spend the money to put on a believable show to invite them into their world of entrapment.
I do wonder how much investigation will go into the real-life Weinberg (paging Harvey Weinstein). After all, this is a Hollywood film about a scandal that put many Democrats behind bars. At the very least, Republicans may use this movie for their own purposes to trumpet the crookedness of their colleagues on the other side of the aisle. From what one can find on the internet, it should come as no surprise that Weinberg sounds like scoundrel, a character unto himself and the movie painted him in the best possible light to compete as a commercial-friendly candidate in the cinematic marketplace. The screenplay depicts Weinberg struggling financially during the sting, but a December 1980 People article purports that the FBI compensated him very well during the investigation, which may or may not have been part of the whole facade portrayed in order to nail "the bad guys." Here's a November 1980 Spokesman-Review article about Robert W. Green book The Sting Man (Great title; I wonder if the producers also think so and copyright stands in their way), based on Weinberg and Abscam. According to this article in People, Mel's wife Marie committed suicide under suspicious circumstances, although nothing ever came of it. Three months before her death, she became quite vocal about the veracity of her husband's labors. This February 1982 Free Lance-Star article paints Mel in an even poorer light, with reports of him badmouthing the mother of one of his sons to combat her campaign against him, before and after her death, which was covered by 20/20's Hugh Downs.
An ABC interview a week before had Tom Jarriel probing Weinberg about compromising serial numbers on some household items (both YouTube clips here were posted by a user Ron Kolb who has few, if any kind words to say about Mel Weinberg). Three years later, the Chicago Tribune interviewed him after he helped the arrest of a counterfeit designer handbag scam in The Windy City.
O. Russell, once known mostly as a belligerent type who put out quirky films, received a personality makeover (real or imagined) since the mid-2000s, and has enjoyed some incredible success, both commercially and critically, in the last three years (and his lead actor Christian Bale has gone through a similar transformation). Both of his last two films, The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, have scored all of the major Oscar indicators (Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Editing), and have a combined total of seven (!) acting nominations, though it didn't hurt to have TWC's hand in the latter (four of those actors return for the Abscam project). The Fighter almost grossed $100M, and Playbook rather effortlessly passed that magical mark. American Bullshit has the moral ambiguity and cops & robbers of The Departed with the narrative drive and components of Argo. Yes, the math is there. And unless O. Russell screws things up, this has Oscar written all over it, and I'm ignorant for not recognizing this sooner. But, on another note, the hair stylings give one pause, no? I'm not talking Dallas Buyer's Club level of pause, but pause none-the-less. We shall see.
Whatever the case, while I originally wrote off this movie's Oscar chances as "way too obvious," I now have to reconsider this choice. Two facts I overweighed were whether or not the movie was actually going to shoot, as well as not even having a title. Additionally, Sony already had three major contenders for 2013 (with titles): The Monuments Men (which had still yet to shoot itself, rendering my previous logic null), Annapurna's Foxcatcher (Megan Ellison's production company is also behind the O. Russell picture), and Paul Greengrass' Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks. Incidentally, the two major 2013 Oscar players that were the last to reach principal photography are O. Russell's project and George Clooney's Monuments Men, not exactly the best of friends and it will be interesting, to say the least, if they become the two frontrunners and the media makes fodder of their history on the set of Three Kings. Foxcatcher director Bennett Miller has also done well at the Oscars with his last two films (not identical stats to O. Russell, but not too shabby either), but one could also argue that his movies aren't as audience-friendly and pop like O. Russell's. Where Miller's films might be guilty of possessing a sedative nature, O. Russell's work, which can be annoying, at least illicit more visceral reactions and make more money. From the sounds of things, Foxcatcher may also be too dark for the AMPAS, especially in contrast to the amoral, but net-positive Abscam movie (I hope the studios don't blow it when they finally do come up with a title). So, with that, I have to relent switching the two's chances around come my next Oscar predictions in the coming months. It's pretty rare for a studio to score three Best Picture nominations, but it has been done before even in a field of five, so we'll have to wait and see just how hungry and smart Sony will be about getting its films recognized. However, it's apparent that Foxcatcher might be rounding out the group, rather than leading the way come awards season (at least, on paper).
As far as total nominations, based on this two-year-old script, all of the regular O. Russell categories he has become accustomed to landing in will definitely be game, though I'm doubtful right now of a high actor count. Lawrence's role is pretty small and insignificant and doesn't require her to get anymore emotional than she has in previous roles. But, if she plays up Marie's real life personality and does so successfully, she could sneak into the race. Adams may have a chance, as she is a perennial favorite of the AMPAS, but the role doesn't cry winner to me. Her performance may say otherwise, however. As for the men, Renner's part is pretty small, and Cooper's character doesn't ask anything of him that he hasn't played in the past (except for the ringlet hair). Bale has a shot, especially if he actually goes for it and transforms himself into the actual Weinberg. There's a parade of supporting male roles, but the only ones that stuck out for me are Lawrence Houseman, the director of the FBI for the film's purposes, and Arthur Zelnick, a powerful mobster who unwittingly gets woven into the FBI sting. I have no idea if they remain in the latest version and who plays the roles. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren has a resume of Swedish TV movies and made his feature debut with Promised Land last year. Production designer Judy Becker has worked with O. Russell on his last two films, as well as Brokeback Mountain.
Am I excited for this film? Not really after knowing the story and gotten my fill from reading the screenplay. I can't say that I anticipate the work of O. Russell and Bale, who still seem like douchebags for past behaviors. I know people can change, but a leopard never changes her spots, right? And, I'd be lying if I said I had an easy time separating the artist from the person. The project sounds like it has the potential to be a solid, entertaining effort. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) It can definitely capture a good percentage of Argo's initial box-office receipts. But, I'm not sure I'm in the mood to watch, yet again, another example of our corrupt system in a male-focused story. Sure, it's sexy and intriguing and holds a mirror to our world blah, blah, blah, blah, but it's just not in my viewership wheelhouse, I guess. Is it in yours?
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