Review: Hustlers

Posted on 25 October, 2019

Inspired by a New York Magazine article that went viral, Hustlers follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. IMDb

Ah, men. The ones that reviewed Hustlers badly are clearly afraid of any woman who can think for herself*. The ones depicted in the film are unequivocally dirtbags—from the police to the Wall Street hustlers who get hustled.

By the time the two police in charge of the case are being interviewed by the journalist—their comments along the lines of ‘everyone’ (including them) ‘isn’t going to strip clubs anymore because they’re afraid of being drugged’—my cynical grimace was making my face ache.

The story released my inner feminist and she has attitude. She reminded me that some men’s greatest fear on a blind date is that the girl will be ugly. A woman’s greatest fear is that she will be sexually assaulted or killed. So much for equality.

My inner feminist almost convinced me that the men simply got what they deserved and to ignore them and focus on the family the women create for themselves. Because this is not a caper film, nor is it a police procedural. It is much closer to a male buddy film—where one gets too into drugs/mob/something illegal with money etc—and it ends tragically.

But because the characters are women they don’t let their lives spin out of control. At least not totally. There are dependents to be taken care of. And, you know, life is what it is. Bad things happen, you build a bridge and you get on with it.

Constance Wu is excellent in her role as Destiny and JLo is a revelation—she also looks amazing. She learned to pole dance for the role and her dancer’s body is astounding. I want her core muscles. It may be the best role she’s ever had and she is up to the challenge. Her Ramona is a queen—when she dances for the men, she is totally in charge and when she needs to protect her family, she is relentless.

The first act of the film is tough to watch in places but as Destiny comes into her own, the mood lifts. When Ramona hatches her plan there are some of the most amazing shopping and strutting scenes since Pretty Woman.

As the girls settle into their con they have a ploy where one hooks the John and the other three appear, introduced as her sisters. In my opinion, this just proves that the men are fools—if three women that fierce strode towards anyone with half a brain, they’d run for their life!

I laughed again when the women were arrested one by one—at least seven police each time. Other light relief comes from Destiny’s grandma and Lili Reinhart’s poor gag reflex but this is not a lighthearted film. This is about women with tough lives finding love and family—and maybe a bit of payback.

*However—if I’m being fair—it has a few production flaws.

Roslyn saw this film as a guest of Limelight Cinemas Tuggeranong.

Feature image: facebook.com/HustlersMovie