The Movie: Hustlers
The Director: Lorene Scafaria
The Cast: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer, Wai Ching Ho, Mette Towley, Trace Lysette, Mercedes Ruehl, Cardi B, Lizzo
The Story: Inspired by the viral New York Magazine article, Hustlers follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.
The Review:
A year ago, while watching Constance Wu's breakout performance in Crazy Rich Asians, I commented to myself that her voice sounded very similar to Jennifer Lopez and it would be cool if they did a movie together. Now I'm sitting here watching this movie that features Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu as best friends who initiate a money making scheme within New York's nightlife underworld.
The story is based off of real life events and sheds light on some pretty shady stuff that was going on around the time of the 2008 market collapse from strip clubs to the stock market and how it all connected. Director Lorene Scafaria keeps the focus on the ladies played by Lopez and Wu while sprinkling in some of the the overarching themes of greed, misogyny, wealth, and entitlement as they relate to the culture of that time.
Most of the movie is a really fun look at the crazy lifestyle and not so legal exploits the ladies indulged in and the performances are all engaging and bursting with personality including brief cameos from Cardi B and Lizzo. Where the movie fell flat for me is how it felt too long and about two thirds of the way in I was ready for the story to be wrapped up but it just kept going and heading to a conclusion that you could see coming a mile away. A small gripe and not enough to derail the movie I just felt less would have been more in this case.
The Verdict:
Hustlers is a perfect ladies night movie and a fun showcase for Lopez and Wu who are two of the hardest working women in Hollywood today.
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