REVIEW: Hurry away from The Hustle

By Maggie Warren,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Even with its talented and well-known cast, “The Hustle” falls short and fails to impress. Starring Anne Hathaway (Josephine) and Rebel Wilson (Penny), the movie’s use of comedic dialogue creates a few enjoyable scenes, but the overall quality of the movie is subpar.

The movie’s plot is simple and dry. Two women, both wanting money, try to compete to get to $500,000 first. The loser has to disappear.

Although the storyline held some potential for comedic gags, most of the jokes fall flat and there’s not a lot of depth.

The film instead focuses on the hurried ride through several swindles and frauds. Since it’s a movie about trying to con people out of money, there’s always going to be a new problem to fix.

“The Hustle” is a remake of the 1988 film, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrel,” which was a remake of another movie, “The Bedtime Story” in 1964.

This remake spreads a good message about how women can come to a power position even when men don’t believe they can.

However, the message falters when it pits the two female leads against each other. The two women should have worked together to achieve their goals instead.

From the outside, it seems like the filmmakers were trying to create a feminist-geared film that didn’t work out.

It’s appropriate for the time to make a new progressive version by casting two women as the leads. However, the jokes didn’t do anything positive towards women.

Wilson is constantly joking about her weight, along with others picking at her too. They portray her as a stumbly, clumsy woman who men are not attracted to.

Hathaway is a great female lead who has starred in films such as “Les Misérables,” which received a 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. “The Hustle,” however, was a step down for her, as her strong suit is acting in deep, enriching roles.

The plot is pretty predictable from start to finish and lacks clever humor. If you want a mindless, silly movie, then “The Hustle” may actually be the right film to watch.

Overall, while the film was a good idea in theory, the logistics, jokes and themes in the movie made it not worth seeing.