This review of “Amsterdam” was first published on Sept. 27, 2022.
For a while now, David O. Russell has been the problematic uncle in the industry family, certain to entertain and disturb in equal measure, depending on what one is willing to overlook when the sausage is being made (or even, considering some reports, when he’s away from the factory).
That the Oscar-nominated writer-director is in the mix again with the period comedy-adventure “Amsterdam” after seven years away (since 2015’s lumpy “Joy”) indicates a willingness in Hollywood to endure the reminders of his behavioral issues and to bet on the recipe of star power, emotional smarts and provocative farce that forged “Flirting with Disaster,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “American Hustle.”