Hustlers

Crafted with passion, told with compassion & exhibiting a finer understanding of the subject matter to catapult itself above its counterparts and into the spotlight, Hustlers brims with an infectious charm & unbridled energy that makes it a fun & entertaining delight, and earns huge tips on the strength of its charismatic ladies.

Written & directed by Lorene Scafaria, the film is as flashy & fleshy as one expects it to be but there is also an emotional sincerity to it that adds depth & richness to both its plot & characters. There's a whole lot of stripteasing in here yet all of it is captured in a manner that advances their arcs while strengthening the sisterhood bond they share.

Looking past the skimpy dress & erotic moves, Scafaria shows these women as no different from employees in any other profession, all trying to make a living. Also, the premise of them robbing the people who caused the global financial collapse is one that makes it easy for us to invest in their schemes, however it isn't allowed to continue without repercussions.

Another aspect that stands out is the ideal chemistry between the leading ladies, for it's got an authentic vibe to it that makes them believable as a crew, and their collective interactions are very interesting as well. Jennifer Lopes steals the show with a strong, sensual & scintillating career-best performance that towers above all while Constance Wu does enough to hold her own.

On an overall scale, Hustlers takes its viewers on a backstage tour of strip clubs & all that unfolds there, and also attempts to dismantle the stereotypes society has regarding strippers. Though there are times when the film gets repetitive, Lorene Scafaria's confident direction, Jennifer Lopez's charismatic rendition, and its teasing, invigorating & boisterous aura makes Hustlers a thoroughly entertaining delight that none should miss.

I've seen this film getting constant hate before it's release and I honestly did not understand why and upon watching it for myself, I really don't understand. Hustlers is one of the most surprising films of the year with an intriguing true story and stellar performances with a possible career best performance from Jennifer Lopez.

The film follows a group of strippers as they hustler their way to the top to get back at Wall Street men that frequent their club as they try to make their lives better. It's a simple story, there's nothing particularly flashy about it and that's what works about it.

Hustlers settles for something interesting, but never goes into the gritty details and that's perfectly fine. It's just trying to have a lot of fun with itself and that is brought out by these performances. Constance Wu continues her great work in this film and truly is the heart of the film and her friendship with Jennifer Lopez's character is phenomenal. Speaking of Lopez she is excellent in this film. She gives an unhinged performance that only she could have pulled off in this way.

The film manages to be fun and enjoyable while also touching on ideas of poverty and the 99%. It's never super deep, but it doesn't seem to be going for that. It's unhinged at times and can be a funny film as well. It just manages to work and flow into a very entertaining ride.

"Hustlers" (2019 release; 110 min.) is "Inspired By a True Story", we are reminded at the beginning. As the movie opens, it is "2007" and an Asian-American girl named Dorothy is getting ready for work at a strip club. Then a Latina woman named Ramona makes her grand entrance and does a spectacular pole dance as Fiona Apple's "Criminal" blasts from the speakers. Duly impressed, Dorothy reaches out to Ramona for some dancing tips, and the two hit it off. We then go to "2014" where we see Dorothy being interviewed by a journalist... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from writer-director Lorene Scafaria, whose "Seeking a Friend For the End of the World" some years ago was one of my favorite movies of that year. Here she takes a New York magazine article and turns it into a wild, wild movie. Beware: not much is left to the imagination. The grand entrance of Jennifer Lopez in that opening scene's pole dance is nothing short of stunning. In fact, the same can be said about Lopez's overall performance, which should be Oscar nomination-worthy, and certainly is a career-best performance. Lopez turned 50 this year, and looks about 35. She takes control of the movie, and requests, makes that demands, your attention. You are more than happy to give it to her. Constance Wu, Keke Palmer, and Lili Reinhardt round out the primary performers. Check out Cardi B and Lizzo (part of the strip gang). When a movie's principal set is a strip club, you can expect a lot of fist-pumping music, and the movie more than delivers on that level. In addition to the aforementioned Fiona, there are songs from Britney Spears, Janet Jackson ("Control", of course), Fat Joe, Queen She, 50 Cent, and many, many more.

"Hustlers" premiered a few weeks ago at the Toronto International Film Festival to immediate acclaim, and was released wide last weekend (outperforming expectations at the box office). The Saturday matinee screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati in its second weekend of release was attended very nicely (a good 30 people in a small room). If you have an interest in seeing a gritty yet funny stripper drama starring an Oscar nomination-worthy Jennifer Lopez, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

When you're watching a movie about bad people doing bad things (gangster movies, financial crime pictures etc.) its naturally hard to sympathize with the characters. The movie has to do the extra work so you can picture walking in their shoes so you can see why the characters are doing what they're doing. My blueprint for accomplishing this (or the best template to follow) is the Martin Scorsese comedy The Wolf of Wall Street. Jordan Belfort (the protagonist played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and his buddy are TERRIBLE human beings, they're criminals, they're bigots and sexists and they don't care whose lives their ruining to get what they want (bigger parties, more women and most of all more money). But the ride is so crazy and watching them just splurge on anything and everything, its so fun that you let go of your morality just to join them on this journey. This is something that Hustlers manages to do and if this hadn't been accomplished, the movie would have dropped like a stone. The actions of Ramona (Jennifer Lopez), Destiny (Constance Wu) and their partners in crime are awful, sure their victims are @$$holes, but they're still drugging them, stealing all of their money then using their positions as strippers to shame them into not reporting them. If the genders were switched, this would be a horror movie. Luckily, the camaraderie between the girls is so strong and its so fun to watch them enjoy the fruits of their labours, you can put the morality of their actions aside and just follow them. I enjoyed watching this movie just for the performances and the vibe it exudes with these women pulling one over on "The Man."

I try to never count actors or actresses out, you never know if they're going to get that rebound role that suits their talents or if they just haven't been pitched on that movie that will make their career. Maybe they're taking gigs just for the paycheque? For example, I really disliked Robert Pattison and then I saw him in Water for Elephants and The Lost City of Z and I realized that maybe he wasn't a hack after all. Jennifer Lopez is another performer who falls in this category for me. She's always been beautiful but I've never liked her work as an actress or as a singer. Hustlers was that movie that changed my mind about her. The movie highlights how stunning she is but I thought her performance in this was excellent. She commanded the screen, she exuded power and confidence whenever the camera was on her and she made you want to believe in Ramona even after she turned the corner. She also had really good chemistry with Wu and the rest of the cast. I applaud her for her work here, I don't know if she'll win an Oscar but this is the best work I've seen from her and I wouldn't be surprised if there's some award recognition her future.

This is not to sell Wu short either, this is a big departure from Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers shows she has a lot of range. I already mentioned that Lopez and her work well together butWu helps carry the viewer through this wild ride. She manages to be funny but she also digs deep in the more serious moments. This is solid work for sure. The supporting cast was really good across the board. I want to credit Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Julia Stiles (who is good but very low key) and Mercedes Ruehl for performing capably and they all had their moments. The only one I'll single out is Cardi B, she isn't bad but she's playing it up really hard and she could have toned it down just a little.

This movie does have some minor hurdles to get over. The first is the aforementioned morality problem which the movie both addresses but also sweeps under the rug. I didn't have a problem with it but it is a present issue. The next is that if you take a step back and look at the arc of the plot, this is also the generic rise and fall gangster story. Its filmed beautifully and its a lot of fun, but if you need something wholly original, this movie doesn't cut it. My final point is that they really rush the segment where the girls get their comeuppance. The movie ends like someone skimming the last few pages and then slams the book shut. I don't know if they thought it was running long and they needed to wrap it up or if that just wasn't the focus but it ends pretty abruptly.

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. I did get to the movie 5-10 minutes late, I saw this with a friend and we entered right when JLO was doing her first dance (it was an awkward moment to enter when you're seeing this with a female friend). It does follow the same beats as a lot of other stories but I credit director Lorene Scafaria and her creative team for finding a new angle on this type of story and the cinematography is noteworthy for a movie that just takes place in the city. Hustlers isn't flawless but it more than does enough to get the job done. If the subject matter doesn't make you squeamish (which it shouldn't... maybe don't watch this with the kids though) check it out on your preferred streaming service. I would tell you to see it in the theatre but I'm late getting this review up and its probably gone by now.

After seeing some of the big praise the film has had including talks of Oscar nominations for Lopez I expected a lot lot more from the film. It was still ok but reasonably good rather than anything exceptional with multiple flaws.