8 Miscast Movie Roles That Received A Bizarre Amount Of Praise

2. Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle

There is something undeniably mesmerising about Jennifer Lawrence's turn in American Hustle, whereupon she plays Christian Bale's frenzied wife Rosalyn, a character who spends much of her screentime being drunk, saying the wrong things, and generally being a pain in the ass. Lawrence injects everything she has into the role, of course, but that's a given with Jennifer Lawrence, anyway - she's hardly the type to "phone it in." The fact remains, though: there's something inherently wrong with her casting in the movie. A certain aspect feels "off." It might be her age. Yes, the character required here needed to be much, much older - somebody we can genuinely believe would have shacked up with a near-on fifty (and balding) Christian Bale. Lawrence is a talent unto herself, but she feels out of place - like a teenager trying to sneak into the adult's party: though her performance is probably one of the most interesting things about American Hustle, she was wrong for Rosalyn (somebody like The Wolf of Wall Street's Margo Robbie, though similar in age, might have been better suited). The Praise: A Golden Globe win? An Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress? It all seems like way too much acclaim for what was essentially a good performance in the wrong movie.