The Hustle (2019) Review

You know how every once in a while, a trailer is released and you have no reservations about it? You don’t know if it’s going to be funny, you don’t know if it’s going to suck.. you’re just shrugging your shoulders and thinking “eh, it’s seems alright”... that’s how I felt when I first saw the trailer for “The Hustle”.

The Hustle is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Chris Addison and written by Stanley Shapiro, Paul Henning, Dale Launer, and Jac Schaeffer. It is a female-centered remake of the 1988 film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which is itself a remake of the 1964 film Bedtime Story. Now I have not seen either of the original films and I don’t have any problem when they remake a film or reboot a franchise with a female cast.

I went and saw both Oceans 8 and the Ghostbusters reboot.. not better than the original but I don’t hate em . I do think Paul Feig is the worst comedy director working right now and I’ve never laughed at his films and feared ”The Hustle” would be just like his films (as of now “A simple favor” is his best film)so seeing this film was purely out of curiosity.

The film stars Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson, Alex Sharp, and Dean Norris, and follows two women who set out to con an internet millionaire. Anne plays Josephine Chesterfield is a glamorous, seductive British woman who has a penchant for defrauding gullible men out of their money. Into her well-ordered, meticulous world comes Penny Rust (Rebel), a cunning and fun-loving Australian woman who lives to swindle unsuspecting marks. Despite their different methods, the two grifters soon join forces for the ultimate score -- a young and naive tech billionaire in the South of France.

I know I’m going to enjoy a movie if they can get me to laugh in the first 15 minutes and even tho at first Anne’s French accent didn’t feel authentic, her performance kept me laughing. Some of Rebel’s jokes were a hit and miss but overall I enjoyed watching both women size each other up and compete for their territory. Now it’s not the best comedy of the year (so far) but it isn’t the worse. My only complaint is the last act. I don’t know how the original films ended but something about this film ending didn’t feel right. Maybe it’s the “I bet I can sleep with him before you do” or the “team up” at the end that threw me off but overall it’s an excellent date movie. The perfect Netflix and chill film. I give it a 7 out of 10. Definitely plan on seeing the original films so I can compare all 3.