Maestras del engaño

I watched this at home on DVD from my public library, my wife skipped, she had a good e-book.

In a brief review, this same story, with a few changes, was the 1964 movie "Bedtime Story" with Marlon Brando and David Niven. Then the 1988 movie "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" with Steve Martin and Michael Caine. And now in 2019 "The Hustle", the biggest change being two female characters as the scoundrels, the hustlers.

"Scoundrels" is one of my favorite movies, I have watched it at least a dozen times over the years, so for me watching "The Hustle" was mostly to compare how they handled similar scenes. While I like both Wilson and Hathaway their characterizations are clearly inferior to the analogous roles created by Martin and Caine. The biggest thing this movie does for me is reinforce how good "Scoundrels" is.

For anyone who has never seen "Scoundrels" this will likely be a good watch, suitably entertaining. For all who have seen "Scoundrels" this remake offers very little.

It lacked oomph. We need so much now when the movies are of such high quality. The acting was not the issue rather the script they had to work with. There were only a couple of belly laughs, and others that were funny but not hilarious. The setting was fine as well. Some nice views were on show. With comedies they have the opportunity to be ridiculous and far fetched with some superb lines thrown in for effect and to give good actors a chance to shine. A few twists and turns that you cannot see coming also helps. The actors were let down I think. The storyline needed to be more complex. The very best comedies are multi layered and clever. This one lacked all that unfortunately. There was little tugging of the heart strings as well. That can be omitted for a comedy but it helps as well. In depth characterisation was not there either. I did not connect much to any of them. There were a few surprises but I had guessed them or saw them coming. Maybe keep it for a TV movie later on. It is not in the realm of the fine comedies!

Sir Michael Caine once said "Rather than remake a good movie, remake a bad one, you can only improve it" Advice not taken in this instance. Lately Anne Hathaway has made a habit of making bad remakes or sequels of hit movies (Oceans 8, The Hustle). She has the talent to make good movies,But is making schlock like this.

I had zero expectations and it turned out to be a total laugh-a-thone. There are hilarious moments in the movie that overrun the sometimes flawed or absurd script. Starts mildly slow and it builds up pretty well half way through. The ladies are very funny, Rebel Wilson is the female Zack Galifianakis! 8/10 and remember to watch the post-post credits scene!

"The Hustle" is an OK movie to watch with your partner and is perfectly servicable for one and done watch, but it's not anything more than that. It's clearly a movie made for women's night out and that's not what makes it not good per se, because it offers something for both sexes to laugh at. Instead, it's the fact that most of the jokes are focused on putting our characters in socially awkward situations which is supposed to make us laugh, but in reality, a lot of the jokes fall flat. No, it's not all that funny to embarass yourself publicly, it's the way how it's done that makes it funny. The more chaotic and unhinged it is in its showcase of things spiraling out of control, the funnier it is. I think that Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson do a great job considering the circumstances, but it's not enough to elevate the movie from its mediocrity. Still, the movie does what it set out to do, and that's to offer the watcher an entertaining hour and a half and it does so well enough before it deservedly fades into oblivion. I give it 6/10 and I recommend it for a relaxing afternoon!