Hustlers - Film Review

I'm not sure if it's COVID-19 or the slow decay of Hollywood, but this year has been an awful year for movies. Before you say it, no, this is not simply because I actively seek out awful movies from time to time (although it may contribute). So I have to say that I'm incredibly proud that I dug up my film backlog and checked out what is truly a spectacular film. 

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Where You Can Find It: I digitally purchased this on Amazon Video (and am glad I did), but it is also available for purchase on DVD/Blu-ray.

General Information 
Hustlers was released on 13 September 2019 as a crime drama inspired on the true story written by Jessica Pressler in 2015. It was written and directed by Lorene Scafaria as her third project in the director's chair. The film was distributed by STXfilms and shown at Toronto International Film Festival one week prior to its release. It received a slew of awards and nominations from numerous outlets that split nearly equal levels of praise between both Scafaria and Jennifer Lopez. As of 9 September 2020, it holds a Metascore of 79 and 6.3 stars on IMDB (this baffles me).

The Story
Like the article it was based on, the film follows a group of exotic dancers employed at the strip club, Moves, who work together to drug and rob the club's clients. Spanning from the Great Recession to the 2010's, the majority of the story is told via the perspective of Destiny (played by Constance Wu), who is a new hire at Moves before she is taken under the wing of veteran dancer, Ramona (Jennifer Lopez). This mentorship quickly turns into friendship that is eventually tested as the women's scam's grow bolder. Most of this story is conveyed via an interview between Destiny and reporter, Elizabeth.

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Ramona and Destiny

I found myself quickly engrossed in this film's story as its main characters were shown to be incredibly human while the backdrop of New York City presented a harsh dog-eat-dog world where no one is innocent. In many ways, I was reminded of Martin Scorsese's 1990s' gangster epics like Casino or Goodfellas as we get a close look at a seedy world by unapologetic former insiders. I would argue that the stakes of this film are somewhat softer than the previously mentioned movies, but that doesn't stop it from being engaging. Considering this is Lorene Scafaria's third time directing a film, I think she does incredibly well with the story she presents and it makes me very excited to see what she'll do next.

One thing I worried about, going into this movie, was in how Ramona's gang of seductresses would be presented. There were numerous times in this film that characters rationalized their actions as justified since their victims were Wall Street yuppies likely tied to the 2008 Great Recession. I was glad that Scafaria took the time to show conflicting arguments and not overly-sympathize with Ramona's and Destiny's crimes. By the end of the movie, I didn't view the group as villains, but I didn't see them as heroes either. 

Special Effects/Atmosphere
There is a ton of style in this movie, however I'd say Scafaria's use of audio is truly what makes this movie stand out. There is a ton of music in this movie that ranges from old school artists like the Four Seasons and Bob Seger to modern genres like hip-hop and rap. As Suicide Squad shows, variety isn't everything, however the music in Hustlers is used perfectly in ways that enhance nearly every scene. 

The audio effects go beyond music though, as Scafaria plays with it from time to time to reflect certain elements of the plot. For example, as this film is centered around an interview, when the tape recorder is turned off, the sound temporarily cuts out completely. Another segment involved a character wearing a hidden microphone on their body, which caused the voice recordings to come in an appropriately lower quality. All of this just works and I really appreciated the extra flourishes.

Beyond sound, there is a great deal of choreography in this film that was nicely done. One of the earlier scenes gives us a front-row seat to a solo dance by Jennifer Lopez that is excellently done (it took me a while to pick my jaw up off the floor). Moves really feels alive in all the scenes it's featured in as everything just looks and sounds real. 

The Acting
Prior to viewing this movie, I would've found the idea of Lopez getting an acting award to be laughable, but she honestly kills it in this movie. I was reminded of Robert De Niro's performance as Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas. Scafaria did an excellent job of drawing out Lopez's intimidating presence without going too far, while also making her likable and charismatic. I wouldn't go as far as to say that she deserves an Academy Award, but I wouldn't knock anyone for suggesting it.

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J-Lo kills it in this one

Constance Wu takes up most of the screen-time as the main protagonist and I think she turns in a solid job that might just be a tad overshadowed by Lopez's excellent performance. Wu gives a unique perspective as her character straddles a world where she's trying to keep her head above water. There's a level of sincerity in her performance that I found quite endearing.

The Best of the Best: The opening introduction of Moves is pretty spectacular. We immediately see the dynamics between the dancers, the customers, and the management.

The Worst of the Worst: I know I'm biased here, but Lizzo annoys the hell out of me. I'm sure she's a wonderful person in real life, but her small involvement with this film was too much for me.

Calhooey Score: 9/10 - fantastic

Would I Recommend?

Lorene Scafaria does an incredible job with this movie and I recommend it to everyone. This is a director to watch in the future. If you like stuff like Goodfellas, this is right up your alley. The use of dynamic characters and audio makes this film shine bright.

-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------

• I'm a big Bob Seger fan, so when I heard "Night Moves" start playing during the DEA investigation portion, I think I may have been in heaven.
• When Destiny straight-up told Ramona that she was going to cooperate with the feds, I thought she was insane. I get that these two were great friends, but that just seemed naively dangerous.
• I'm a little surprised none of the women did more time in prison. 
• Speaking of which, I'm curious what Destiny did to get her nice house. I'm assuming some form of restitution had to be paid, and the movie went to great lengths to show that these women couldn't get high-paying jobs outside of dancing.
• Well Actually: Based off the article this movie was based off of, Moves was based off of Scores, which remains an incredibly popular strip club in New York City. The club has been involved in several criminal investigations that range from drug trafficking to mafia extortion.
• I was surprised to see that Cardi B was actually pretty decent in this movie.
• Apparently, Cardi B was not only a stripper in real-life, but also admitted to drugging and robbing clients similarly to what Destiny and Ramona did in the film.

----------------------------------------------------References--------------------------------------------------

*Amazon. (2019). Hustlers film cover image. Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/Hustlers-Constance-Wu/dp/B07XGDZMHZ.   

**Brody, R. (2019, September 13). Ramona and Destiny image. New Yorker. Retrieved from: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/review-hustlers-is-a-lurid-crime-story-with-no-edge. 

***Hustlers. (n.d.). Jennifer Lopez gif. Giphy. Retrieved from: https://giphy.com/gifs/hustlersmovie-hustlers-movie-hustler-QVsxTG2cSrzFUScuAs.