Sony Pictures has released the first trailer for David O. Russell's American Hustle.  The story is based on an  undercover sting operation called “Abscam”, which was set up in the 1980s by a con artist working for the FBI who rooted out corruption in Congress.  Christian Bale plays the con artist, Amy Adams plays his lover/accomplice, Bradley Cooper plays an FBI agent, and Jennifer Lawrence is set as Bale’s “loose cannon of a Long Island house wife.”  Those plot and character details are mostly absent from the trailer, but we do get a look at what could be a wild and fun ride.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., Michael Pena, and Jack Jones.  American Hustle opens in limited release on December 13th before going wide on December 25th. [Update: We've replaced the video embed with a higher-quality version and added high-quality images.]

Here’s the official synopsis for American Hustle:

A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper).  DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that’s as dangerous as it is enchanting.  Jeremy Renner is Carmine Polito, the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the con-artists and Feds. Irving’s unpredictable wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down. Like David O. Russell’s previous films, American Hustle defies genre, hinging on raw emotion, and life and death stakes.