Movie Review: Hustlers

“Doesn’t money make you horny?” Smashing through the box office opening weekend, Hustlers over performed by about $10 million, earning a whopping $33 million its first few days in theaters. This success was due in large part to the wildfire of word of mouth that got people into theaters to watch an exciting movie in an otherwise uninteresting season. Directed by Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers is a huge breakout movie that showcases her ability to masterfully direct actors and craft moving performances between them. This film stands on the strong foundation laid down by performances by Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Keke Palmer, and Lili Reinhart. On the other hand, the movie falters in many places and without the stellar acting this movie would fall well below the slightly-above-average territory where it’s currently treading.

The most obvious comparison to Hustlers, in my mind, is The Social Network. Both movies follow a similar structure and cut between interview scenes and the events that transpired. For Hustlers, though, the interview scenes lacked the forward movement necessary to continue propelling the audience further into the story. More than anything, they served as abrupt breaks in the narrative that served to only explain to the audience what exactly was happening. Expositional narration followed almost every interview scene which left the interviews feeling useless altogether. Hustlers feels as though it could be reconstructed to avoid the interview scenes altogether or rewritten so that the interview scenes provide less exposition than forward movement, and offered a look into the characters of Destiny (Wu), Ramona (Lopez), and others.

Immediately after Hustlers hit theaters, there were cries for Jennifer Lopez to win an Oscar for her role in the movie. Lopez, who plays an older, motherly stripper in a luxury club in Manhattan with a cunning business sense, struck me almost immediately with her performance. Lopez’ character is hardly a departure from her established image as a sexy pop superstar but this lent itself to her convincing and moving performance. Lopez captured a careful complexity in which Ramona walks the line between business savvy and unforgiving ruthlessness. As Ramona sees her potential pay-day getting bigger and bigger, she descends further and further into irrational behavior and ruthlessness brought on by the pursuit of the American Dream.

In addition to Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu also delivers a performance that stuck out to me. Known best for her role in Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Wu plays the earnest young woman who’s just looking to make a living and support her aging grandmother who’s deep in debt. Wu, who struck me in her last feature appearance, reminds moviegoers why she should be entrusted with deeper and more complex roles. Wu takes her character and runs with it. Her best moments are her most emotional, and she truly embodies the anxieties of those who lost their livelihoods to the 2008 financial crisis. In addition to Wu, Keke Palmer and Lili Reinhart rounded out the supporting cast and they also proved to be sympathetic characters that the audience could passionately root for. From beginning to end, these actresses carried this film on their backs which has resulted in one of the best female-centered movies so far this year.

While Hustlers may not be the most sophisticated or masterful movie, it’s fun, it’s charming, and it’s sexy. Lorene Scafaria brought together a wonderful group of women who expertly told the story of a few individuals who did everything in their power to succeed in a system that had failed them. Whether they were trying to support themselves or others, they made decisions to counteract the corruption on Wall Street that led to the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Hustlers is a great movie to go see with friends. Prepare yourself for a whole lot of stripping and a shower of straight $1 bills.

Rating: 7/10