The actors read the script and started salivating: Oscar Bait! It's a sting movie, but the sting is secondary to the characters and the actors. Wigs, accents, playing way against type, all the actors are in it 110%.
Christian Bale and Amy Adams play desperate low-class grifters who get sucked in by FBI agent Bradley Cooper to pull off an Abscam-like con on politicians and other bigger fish. As the marks get bigger, and personal relationships intensify, everyone is soon in over their heads.
The story takes a while to unfold, but once things get rolling, they get funnier, and there's a great surprise cameo in which the perfect actor gets the perfect part.
And Jennifer Lawrence will get an Oscar.
Its only faults are it might run 10 minutes too long, and an over-reliance on 70s hair sight gags.
Speaking of cameos, keep an eye open for Anthony Zerbe and Colleen Camp.
