Living up to its name, there is indeed some hustling going on but unfortunately it’s us the audience that gets hustled. The film via its trailers would seem to be a tale of clever women getting the best of rich and entitled men but unfortunately no one comes out of this looking good.
The women do take advantage of the men but it is done in such a way as to drag all concerned through the gutter. The targets and their platinum cards pay extravagantly for the privilege of their company but the women doing the fleecing are also losing something.
Jennifer Lopez as the girl’s ringleader, Ramona shows real application to the role and her athleticism is impressive. Her character has a steely core but this resolve is not used for anything even close to noble. Her narcissism is her strongest trait.
As a cautionary story, Hustlers has some value. As an indictment of a period of time filled with wanton excess and heightened male chauvinism, the women come out of this film looking no better than the men.
Rob Hudson
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