Skip to main content

Hustlers: Review

2019. R. 110 mins. Directed by Lorene Scafaria



Hustlers is the latest movie written and directed by Lorene Scafaria. She has had a great track record in previous years of directing and writing movies with seemingly unlikable characters that she manages to make you care for by the end. With Hustlers we follow Constance Wu as Destiny, a stripper who befriends a group of girls who come up with a scheme where they take advantage of clients that frequent their club in an effort to take more money from them. The ring leader of the group is Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) who takes Destiny under her wing and brings her into this life of crime that is full of sex, drugs and money.

On paper this movie has a lot going for it. You've got a proven director/writer in Lorene Scafaria, Constance Wu is a hot commodity at the moment, the story is based on a popular article from New York Magazine and throw in a solid supporting cast that features Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer along with popular music acts like Cardi B, G Easy and Lizzo. The one caveat to all this is who the entire movie was marketed around, Jennifer Lopez. When it comes to movies J. Lo doesn't have the best track record. Really outside of her performance in the underrated Out of Sight the majority of her performances have ranged from bad to average at best. Thankfully, she really knocks it out of the park with her performance and does some of her best acting in years.

What keeps things interesting here is the script from Scafaria. Not only is she able to get good performances from almost everybody in the cast but the dialogue she has written, just like her previous movies, is one of the biggest highlights. The audience can really get invested with these characters and care about them when they make mistakes. To go along with Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu really stands out in her performance. She proved last year in Crazy Rich Asians that she can be a lead and she really holds her own here. Lopez and Wu have great chemistry and they get plenty of chances to show it off.

Outside of the two main stars it does at times feel like the rest of the cast doesn't get much to do. Keke Palmer and Lili Reinhart play the other two girls who are apart of the main group and for a while it seems like the story is going to give them more to do but then it kind of throws them to the side to just focus on Lopez and Wu more. Julia Stiles is limited in her role but the scenes she does get are solid overall. For those of you coming to see Cardi B and Lizzo because they are plastered all over the marketing, you will be sadly disappointed as they only get a couple of scenes.

Overall, Hustlers is relatively entertaining. Great performances from Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez alone are enough to elevate this over some of it's shortcomings. It would have been nice to have some of the side characters fleshed out a little more and the movie jumping around between different years can be a bit jarring at times. The snappy dialogue and solid direction keep things moving along at a nice pace which keeps things from lagging too much.

Grade: B

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Review

  2026 | PG-13 | 145 mins | Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton It has been five years since the last Spider-Man movie hit theaters. Spider-Man: No Way Home was one of the biggest post pandemic movies and was able to capitalize on bringing together all three live action Spider-Man actors. After taking some time off, Spider-Man is back with a new director and a new look at not just the superhero but Peter Parker himself. Picking up right where the last movie left off, everyone has not only forgotten that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, but everyone also has forgotten Peter Parker altogether. Now, living on his own and mostly keeping to himself Peter tries to live a life without his aunt, his best friend and the love of his life. Continuing with his duties as Spider-Man, he has been collaborating with the local police to help track down any villains that try to destroy the city. He still keeps tabs on Ned and MJ as they are now attending MIT and living their life post-Peter Parker. A new t...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

Swapped (2026) | Review

  2026 | PG | 102 mins. | Directed by Nathan Greno Swapped is the latest in what seems to be a never-ending cycle of animated talking animal movies. With the success of Zootopia 2 last year and recent movies like Hoppers and Animal Farm also getting into the mix, how does Swapped separate itself from the pack? On paper, it looks like just another generic animal movie with a heavy-handed lesson that the characters must learn and then everyone feels good in the end. Thankfully, Swapped stands on its own and separates itself by being creative with its character designs as well as taking big chances in its plot point. Throughout the movie we follow a small woodland creature named Ollie (Michael B. Jordan). When he is younger, he befriends a young bird, called a Javan, that he shows how to eat the food of his species. After doing so the bird invites the rest of her flock to come and try this food, which makes things difficult for Ollie and his family. Ollie's species, called Pookoos, ha...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Review

  2026 | PG | 98 mins. | Directed by Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc After striking out in the 90s with a live action attempt at the character, Universal and Illumination finally struck gold with Mario and his pals in the 2023 smash hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The movie went on to gross over $1.3 billion at the box office and was the second highest grossing movie of 2023. It was inevitable based on well the movie did that a sequel would be right around the corner. Now in 2026 The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is hitting theaters with a bigger story and even more characters.  When Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) is kidnapped by the son of Bowser (Jack Black), Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), it is up to Mario (Chris Pratt) and the gang to try and save her. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) set out on their own journey to try and find where she is being kept. Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi (Charlie Day) stay back to help protect the Mushroom Kingd...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

Toy Story 5 | Review

  2026 | PG | 102 mins. | Directed by McKenna Harris and Andrew Stanton For over 30 years the Toy Story  series has remained one of the most consistent franchises. The original movie was the first computer animated film and has gone on to be remembered as one of the greatest animated movies of all time. After spawning three sequels, the franchise has gone on to become a cultural phenomenon. Now with Toy Story 5 , the toys are back once again and this time they are taking on a new foe that is putting their jobs in jeopardy. Buzz, Jessie and the gang have their hands full when their owner, Bonnie, has a problem making friends. While Bonnie still loves playing with toys and likes to be imaginative and creative, the kids in her neighborhood and in her dance class only want to do one thing, play with their tablets. Bonnie and her parents are unsure of how to get other kids to want to play with her so the parents end up getting Bonnie her own tablet so she can hopefully interact wit...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

The Mandalorian and Grogu | Review

  2026 | PG-13 | 132 mins. | Directed by Jon Favreau It's been seven years since the last time a Star Wars movie hit the big screen. After The Rise of Skywalker premiered in 2019 and was met with lukewarm reception, Disney decided to shift their focus for Star Wars. Over the last seven years the franchise has seen several series make their way to Disney+. These series have allowed Disney to expand the universe and create new stories within the world. The first series, and arguably one of the best, to hit Disney+ was The Mandalorian. Fan and critic reception has been mostly positive for the three seasons of the show. After toying with a fourth season, Disney decided to scrap the idea and do a new Mandalorian movie and return Star Wars to the big screen. With The Mandalorian and Grogu , the movie follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu on a new adventure. Now working for Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) and the New Republic, Mando and Grogu are hired by the Hutt family to track d...
Post a Comment
Full Review »