Hustlers Movie Review: Jennifer Lopez And Constance Wu's Hustling Is Topnotch But Banal Writing Brings The Film Down

Jennifer Lopez has this brilliant dialogue by the end of the film that put a big smile on my face. The line goes with effect to something like this - Everybody is hustling. While one throws the money, the other dances to the tunes. Come to think of it, it is nothing new to hear that the world is a party of scamsters with variations in their morals. Hustlers explores this very limit of testing morals, limits and the outcome of the game. The story has been adapted by Lorene Scfaria from the New York Times article unfolding the incidents pertaining to a scam that was perpetrated by a group of erotic dancers in New York clubs. So how did the movie fare in our eyes? For that, you should scroll below and check out our review of Hustlers. Hustlers: Here's Why Director Lorene Scafaria Badly Wanted to Cast Cardi B in the Film

The film begins with Destiny (Constance Wu) who is seen sitting in the dressing room and marvelling at all the women around her. She's the new girl in the stripping business and lacks panache, confidence and the right moves. Her life is completely turned 180 degrees when her paths cross with Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) a pro stripper who can make all the men, rich or poor, reach out to their wallets and splurge wads of 100s! Destiny and Ramona, who call themselves the hurricane, make a great deal of money with their erotic dancing but all that comes to a halt after the 2008 financial crisis.

Affected by the plummeting economy, the strip club also does shady business that involves more than stripping. Destiny and Ramona's paths separate but only for a brief period as they do return to form the 'hurricane'. This time though, they use their force to bring down the Wall Street mafias who brought about the crashing economy. Of course, they are very subtle with their conning moves and even include Mercedes (Keke Palmer) and Annabelle (Lili Reinhart). Basically, the hustlers are caught because you can't always get away from the things you've done.

Directed by Scarafia, the film brings life to the article originally written by a New York Times journalist about the ladies who conned the biggest scam-artists, the Wall Street Journal-types. The minute you learn that the men were scammed by women, it piques everyone's interest because these women managed to loot the brightest minds with their sensuality. Hustlers plainly follows the script and recites what has been written in the article with barely any creative liberty. This makes me talk about movies like Catch Me If You Can or even The Wall Street Journal which derives stories from real-life incidents. Unlike Hustlers, these movies, despite their predictable nature, were told in an engaging manner. It's not that the story is bad with Hustlers but the delivery is what doesn't stay with the audience. Not that the duration is a lot because 110 minutes is not bad. However, the storytelling is so banal that you feel like a lot of time has passed!

You can watch the Hustlers trailer below

While the storytelling might have brought down my mojo about the film, Jennifer Lopez really spruces up the screen! JLo's fabulous onscreen performance as the mastermind behind the scams just makes you a happy person. Meanwhile, Constance Wu's meek nature is just as brilliant! The supporting cast, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart and Julia Stiles make for the ideal actresses to play their respective roles. Acting wise, they all have done a good job, JLo especially as she plays a complex character who has a very latent feminist vibe. Not to mention how they as well as Cardi B and Lizzo's bold onscreen appearance as strippers is just topnotch! They sure trained themselves really well!

The choice of music used in the film for certain scenes is too perfect for words! For example, when JLo as Ramona is seen wearing a hoodie with diamond written on it, Lorde's Royal plays in the background and it is kickass! Even when Usher enters the club and plays In this club song, it makes the audience euphoric! Well, the r&b fans at least.

Yay!

- Jennifer Lopez's performance

- JLo and Constance Wu's camaraderie

- The supporting cast including Keke Palmer and Lili Reinhart

- Great choice of music

- Brilliant pole dancing movies

- Entertaining acts by the cast

Nay!

- Bland storyline

- Lacks creativity

- One flow direction that simply follows a series of events in a banal manner

- No spunk despite a great cast

Final Word

The West seems to hype Hustlers a lot by calling it one of the best that the film festivals have seen in a long time. Well, with a cast so strong, it is not surprising that they manage to sustain the audience's attention. However, in terms of direction and storyline, lack of creativity is so evident that it makes so sad. Movies of true events make for a predictable watch but some have still managed to interest the audience with their creative liberties. I do wish Hustlers did the same! So yes, watch it because JLo on and off a pole is such a treat to watch!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2019 09:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).