“Hustlers” Movie Review

Story posted September 17, 2019 in Arts & Entertainment by Emily Mugno.

“Hustlers” hit theatres this past Friday and the film has already grossed a worldwide total of $37.7 million. There was discussion about how this movie would be done, how the characters would be portrayed and how audiences would perceive it. Each of these categories was fulfilled with success.

This movie was an attention grabber when the public was informed about the diverse and star-studded cast. The infamous Jenifer Lopez played the main character, Ramona. Lopez documented the extensive workouts and training she endured to take on this role. Other celebrities in the movie include Constance Wu, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Cardi B, and Lizzo.

The movie tells the true story of strippers who had regular Wall Street clientele. Everything was going as planned, money was coming in and the strippers were living a luxurious life. Once the economic downward spiral happened in 2008, people were being put out of jobs, causing the club to lose the majority of their business. Ramona, one of the most popular strippers at the club and her sidekick, Destiny, had to come up with another plan to make a living for themselves.

“Hustlers” begins with Destiny, played by Constance Wu from “Crazy Rich Asians.” The movie was told in a flashback type of way, where Destiny was being interviewed in the present day by a reporter, but her flashbacks was the way of telling the story.

Destiny is the new stripper at the club, looking confused and intimidated by everything happening around her. It was when Ramona took the stage to perform that she was mesmerized by her dance skills and her beauty. Destiny approached Ramona for advice on how to improve her skills, causing Ramona to somehow become a motherly figure to Destiny. Since their first interaction with each other, they became best friends and Ramona was always looking out for Destiny.

They were living a life full of materialistic items and swimming in money. It was until the economy got bad that their lives were taking the same turn. The money left the club, as did they, causing them to have to find real jobs making minimum wage. They lost touch, but a few years later, they reunite, creating a strip club scheme that would one day catch up to them.

Taking advantage of their former strip club clients, they got them drunk and maxed out their credit cards for their own personal gain. Even though it was a slimy scheme they were pulling off, the movie is “a story of friendship, power, greed and control,” according to Lopez’s latest Instagram caption.

Overall, the story was enticing, but it ended quite abruptly. The movie could of done a better job of transitioning out of the story, warning viewers that the end was near. It would have been a great addition to show a little of what their life is in the present day. When the credits approached, like most true story films do, they provide little snippets of what happened to the people in the movie. This could have been improved by adding another fifteen or twenty minutes to the film. Besides this small hiccup, the story was told with great detail.

Rating: 4/5

 

 

Emily Mugno is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, e-mail esm6@psu.edu.