Review of The Hustle (2019) by Hnestlyonthesly — 07 Oct 2019

The Hustle is a twist on the standard grifter storyline that shows off Hathaway and Wilson’s talents with impressions and physical comedy, but it makes mistakes of its own by adhering too closely to tropes about beauty and the female form. It’s dedication to absurdist scenes works in situations where the joke blooms like a rare tropical flower (as with the Lord of the Rings gambit), but rankles with the Blind Person bit that goes on for a shockingly long time without anyone asking if it’s irreverent or just plain dickish. There are no red flags in this review (The Spy Who Dumped Me, I will never forget what you did to me)–you can enjoy the film without reservation.

I’ve written in the past about my fascination with the fascination with Anne Hathaway’s hair and her terrific villainy in Ocean’s 8, as well as Rebel Wilson’s moment, so seeing The Hustle was kind of a no brainer. Hathaway’s impressions and accents steal the show for me. Timothy Simons’s (Jonah from Veep) lines in the first five minutes of the movie might be the funniest dialogue that I have heard all year.

The Hustle was the first in a long series we’re doing with Friend who likes women-driven comedies and action films starring Jason Statham. We were lucky to have her along because she pointed out that the out-of-nowhere British ladies at the club who come back again later are actually a cameo from a reality television show. It doesn’t make the movie any less random, but you have to give credit where credit is due for a get.

Wife had a suggestion for the film that I really liked. She was sort of done with the fact that Rebel Wilson is always cast as the fat, undesirable friend who discovers that the hot guy doesn’t want her. She thinks that struggle, even if it’s showing new representation in film, is still reinforcing toxic ideas about body image. She says a more interesting configuration would have been if Rebel Wilson had been the master hustler teaching a bumbling Anne Hathaway the tricks of the trade. Just a thought.