Hustlers Movie Review

The following is a movie review “Hustlers” by Marc Primo.

Release date: 13 September 2019

Director: Lorene Scafaria

Language: English

Production companies: Gloria Sanchez Productions, Nuyorican Productions, Annapurna Pictures

Producers: Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Jennifer Lopez

Based on “The Hustlers at Scores” by Jessica Pressler, this tale about the power of sisterhood will awe audiences in more ways than just the interesting elements of femme revenge.

Writer-director Lorene Scafaria brings onscreen the tale of four strippers who are out for vengeance with all the beauty and relatable facets of the four driving the film’s plot throughout. What makes this simple yet engaging feature win is not only its true story factor, but how the film’s subtext offers insights that are not presented on the surface which challenge viewers to decipher the leads’ real motivations.

Hustlers tells the story of how Destiny, played by Constance Wu (The Feels, Crazy Rich Asians) strips in a posh Manhattan joint for the sake of her beloved grandmother. Going big-time though is not all rainbows and butterflies for Destiny as the club also features a host of veteran strippers who outshine her away from the customers. Enter Jennifer Lopez’s Ramona, the premier diva of the club who coaches Destiny and takes her into strip club stardom. The two make a substantial sum of money before 2008’s economic collapse which sends back lonely husbands and bad drunks looking for other less costly leisure alternatives. And so the con begins.

Ramona and Destiny resort to drugging their gentlemen clients and forcing them to make credit card transactions while under the influence as the two bank on sexy to survive.

A far cry from the 1995 disaster film Showgirls, Hustlers is able to make audiences root for the lead characters despite of all the wrongs they do to their semi-willing customers. Perhaps what catches the viewers’ attention is the smart use of a strictly 2000’s pop playlist played with every money-making scheme the team makes, or how Destiny and Ramona evolve into characters that are not merely eye-candy but ones that command respect.

Wu’s Destiny is the viewers’ POV and she wins all empathy as she takes them for a ride on the wild side with every detail of her transition from the naive stripper to an independent and no-nonsense con artist served on a silver platter.

Scafaria’s ability to justify the girls’ erring ways by integrating their noble values into the mix (in terms of family and somehow playing the abused card), make the film work. Hustlers is a female version of sticking it to the man as Destiny and Ramona are forced to fight the system any way they can because that’s all they can really do. Scafaria simply presents the puzzle pieces for the audiences to work with and draw their own conclusions on how everything pans out.

The film’s cast are also very cohesive that viewers will fall in love in how they sell their dedication and friendship. Lili Reinhart (The Good Neighbor, Galveston) and Keke Palmer (Brotherly Love, Pimp) add charm and love to the team which makes their tale all the more powerful.

Cinematically, Hustlers does what it’s supposed to. Be an entertaining tale of girl power that meshes drama, upbeat energy, and humor in one effective package that pulsates with a heartbeat and breeds respect to the most unlikely characters.

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