Review of The Hustle (2019) by Nateed — 31 Jul 2021

Let's begin with the story, which is not good in any way. This movie relies so heavily on the comedy aspect of the film that it's like they forgot about the story itself. It doesn't help that about ¾ of the jokes told never stick the landing or seem so random that it just doesn't fit with what's going on in that moment of the film.

The pacing in this movie is also terrible with it taking a weird approach to set up the movie and how the two women meet. I found the train car scene very weird and it made Rebel Wilson's character seem like such a klutz which I think contradicts her later actions.

Anne Hataway and Rebel Wilson do a somewhat decent job in the film, but at times it feels like they are trying too hard to make the jokes seem funny. For instance, Anne Hathaway's accent ends up sounding like Emily Blunt (which isn't a bad thing, just a weird choice for her character) and Rebel Wilson is using some of her old gags from other movies that most of her line delivery just feels unoriginal.

The supporting cast also does a decent job, but nobody really ever stands out. Especially Alex Sharp's character who I found to be very annoying by the end of the film. Speaking of the ending of the film, it was probably one of the worst endings to a film I have ever seen.

There is absolutely no pay-off and makes you feel like you just wasted your time. The surprise twist at the end that Thomas is a con artist too is not surprising and seems like it was a basic choice just to try and pull you back in after an uneventful 2nd act.

Then for the lead characters to do absolutely nothing to stop Thomas from taking their money is such a bad move on the story team's part. I would have loved to have seen Hathaway and Wilson pull off a scheme together since their "bonding" moment at the end of the film didn't feel deserved.

All in all, The Hustle is a boring, unimaginative film that takes two A-list actors and does nothing new with them. The story takes a turn for the worst in the final act and has completely no fun to it at all.

Even with the slight jokes that landed, it couldn't have saved The Hustle from being a total disaster. Read more reviews like this at postcreditreviews.