Anthony's Film Review - Hustlers (2019)

A unique and interesting film, combining a crime drama with the world of exotic dancing...

Does anyone here like to look at beautiful ladies? How about beautiful ladies who are strippers? Well, if that's your kind of thing, let's take a quick tour through the New York strip club depicted in this movie.

The first exotic dancer you may notice is a young Asian lady named Destiny, played by Constance Wu. She's fairly new to the place, but her looks and personality certainly won't disappoint, and she's eager to learn the tricks of the trade. She's one of many women in this establishment, showcasing the diversity of beauty. If Destiny isn't your type, perhaps you prefer the darker skin and curves of Cardi B as Diamond, who is seen just briefly. But if you really want a high-end performer, look no further than Ramona, played by Jennifer Lopez. She is stunning because of how great she looks at 49-going-on-50, plus her pole dancing that drives the men so wild that they really let loose with tips. The numerous dollar bills piling on the stage, practically covering it, will make anyone's jaw drop.

Unlike visiting a real strip club, watching the club in this movie gives you the opportunity to see many ladies in the dressing room. As you may expect, they're getting ready to perform while having all sorts of girl talk. There's also plenty of bonding with friends and with Mercedes Ruehl as Mom, the middle-aged lady who runs the club. So consider this a more unique glimpse into the world of strippers, beyond the main club floor and VIP rooms. Bottom line: if you're watching this movie only for the hot women to look at, you'll enjoy it at first. But then you'll be disappointed because that's only a small part of the film.

On the other hand, if you want a movie with an intriguing story and sympathetic characters, you'll likely enjoy Hustlers even more, so read on for my take on the film.

It is not long after the film begins when you get to know who the characters are. Destiny, whose real name is Dorothy, lives with her grandmother in a suburban house and is always wishing to be able to care for her and to become financially independent. Ramona is a mother of a young daughter, living in an apartment in the city. The fact that both women seek financial security for themselves and their families is something that can form the basis for a friendly connection between them. Hell, it's something that virtually all strippers can share. But it's not just that. Ramona isn't entirely selfish and is willing to help a new friend, which is what happens when Destiny first approaches her and then gets tips from Ramona about pole and lap dancing.

At first, there is a bit of glamour in the life of a stripper. The money they can make, even with club management taking a large cut of the cash tips, is quite exciting, especially as men on Wall Street have tons of money to blow at the strip club. However, the beginning of this tale is set in 2007. One year later, the 2008 financial crisis and recession occurs, and everybody is hurting. The club is now less active. Yeah, there are still some men visiting and strippers dancing for them, but there's still a sense of concern about the future. It's gotten so bad that some strippers are willing to cross the line by performing more direct sex acts, just to make enough cash.

It's these challenging circumstances that lead Ramona to develop a plan for a big side hustle. It goes something like this: a lovely lady finds a man sitting alone at a bar, they have a few drinks, a few more ladies join them, and the ladies eventually convince the man to join them at their strip club. On the surface, it sounds like nothing more than creative advertising, a way to boost business for the club and ultimately net them more funds. There's just one problem: the hustle also involves something that crosses both a legal line and a moral line. It turns the situation of advertising for men into a trap for men. So how does Ramona justify this? Two things. One, the men are Wall Street folks who've profited off the recession, at the cost of ordinary people who lost money from it. Two, what they're doing is supposedly not too different from what the men are doing already on their own. Their plan is just a slight enhancement. That's all.

Even with initial objections, Ramona's reasoning is enough to get a few allies to work with her. With that, the hustle is carried out by four strippers: Ramona, Destiny, Mercedes (Keke Palmer) and Annabelle (Lili Reinhart). The first few times, the plan works. But it's not long before complications set in. Suddenly, they have to be much more careful to avoid getting caught. At this point, you'd think at least one of them will bail out of the scheme. Yet, something keeps them in it. Maybe it's the ongoing promise of big money at the end. Whatever it is, they keep going.

And sure enough, the path they're on goes into a downward spiral. It's not just the greed that fuels it. It's also the need to survive. That's because the initial plan doesn't last forever. Because of obstacles, the ladies have to devise new methods. They have to adapt, adjust, and expand their plans. And as they do so, the operation they carry out eventually becomes bigger, perhaps towards a point where it's too big to contain in secrecy. What makes this story intriguing isn't really the question of whether the scheme will come to an end. It's when and how it does.

Through it all, we see the relationship between Destiny and Ramona evolve. It's great to see a genuine friendship form early on as coworkers at a strip club. It's even more interesting how it threatens to break because of what happens during the criminal operation. Destiny's trust in Ramona is put into question, while they still hold hope that they won't get caught. This is a good time for me to mention that, besides the story, the performances of Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu make the film work. I would even go as far as to predict that Lopez could get nominated for a major acting award.

Hustlers is based on a true story, specifically the article in New York magazine titled "The Hustlers at Scores," written in 2015 by Jessica Pressler. In fact, the story in this movie is presented in the form of a present-day interview with flashbacks of the past. Destiny is being interviewed by a magazine reporter played by Julia Stiles. It provides an interesting contrast with the flashbacks, because Destiny is looking back on the past with a mix of regret and a little wonder about how things went wrong. It makes us examine our morals about money, like when it's OK and not OK to obtain it, or whether the quick pursuit of big money comes with a hefty price tag for other human values. It's topped off with the final line of the movie uttered by Ramona, providing an interesting perspective about what kind of society we really live in.

The last thing I'll mention is the director, Lorene Scafaria. She especially deserves credit for telling a story about women who are people, underneath the stripper eye candy. The characters are definitely not sugar-coated (pun not intended). The women deal with life's issues, and yes, they are flawed, but they're ultimately a reflection of the economic hardships they unfortunately have to face. So really, there are plenty of things to enjoy about Hustlers. It has a nice story, engaging characters, and a little moral and social commentary. (And if you still want the eye candy, you can't go wrong with J. Lo's pole dancing.)

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Hustlers, visit the Internet Movie Database.