So, are movie audiences ready for another flick about good looking women being very, very bad? Well, not as bad say as the ladies of THE KITCHEN. Nobody’s getting whacked or having their legs broken. The dudes in this romp do wake up with some major hangovers (physical and financial). Now don’t get this confused with this past Summer’s similarly-titled THE HUSTLE. This new flick has no wacky slapstick hi-jinks. And it’s based an original story, a magazine article, while the former was a remake…of a remake, showing us that “third time’ was definitely not “the charm”. And instead of the swanky hotels and casinos on the French Rivera, we see the inner working of an NYC “high-end” “gentleman’s club”. The “entertainers’ that work there desperately want to leave the “life”. But they’ve got to be more than “classy exotic dancers’, these ladies have to be HUSTLERS.
In the story’s opening moments, way back in 2007, the focus is on a new dancer at the Manhatten club “Moves”: Dorothy AKA Destiny (Constance Wu). After working long hours, usually inviting men for “lap dances” in the private backrooms, she splits the tips with the “backstage” men, then returns to the home she shares with her Grandam (Wai Ching Ho), wakes up at 3 PM, and begins the (literal) grind once more. “D” simply has to increase her revenue. Then she witnesses a performance by the club’s grand diva, Ramona (Jennifer Lopez). Her athletic “pole” work leaves the stage covered in cash. Later D asks her for advice, and soon they’re meeting early at Moves for training, with some help from another “star”, the dazzling Diamond (Cardi B). In those coming “golden” months, “R and D’ become a dynamic duo working the rich brokers and bankers into a spending frenzy. But the party’s over with the big financial “crash” of Fall, 2008. Destiny acquires a boyfriend, gets pregnant, leaves Moves, has a baby girl, and loses the guy. She fails at getting any “straight” work, so it’s back to the club. But it’s a near ghost town, with gorgeous Russian immigres now performing (and giving more than lap dances in the back). Then Romana walks back in and offers Destiny a new oppurtunity, a scam she calls “fishing”. They hang out at ritzy hotel bars and restaurants looking for a wealthy “mark”, zeroing in on his shoes, watch, and rings. One member of the group joins him until her ‘sisters’ just “drop by”. After getting him drunk, they take him back to Moves (the club gets a “cut”) and they precede to “rack up” a charge card tab for thousands (the guys are too ashamed to do anything about it). The duo becomes a quartet with club vet Mercedes (Kiki Palmer) and the novice Annabelle (Lilli Reinhart). They do well, but the whole night’s taking too long for Romana, so she concocts a drug mixture to spike the drink and loosens up the guys in hurry. Greed kicks in as new girls are recruited and the “Mickey Finn” is strengthened. Just how long can they keep the ‘gravy train” running until something goes wrong and “5-0” steps in?
Despite the recent press junket “kerfuffle”, yes Ms. Wu’s Destiny is indeed the story’s main focus with her on-screen a good 90% of the flick’s running time. As with last year’s surprise smash CRAZY RICH ASIANS, she carries the lead role with great agility. Destiny runs the gamut of emotions, and, of the “crew”, garners the most sympathy. We see her barely able to walk forward in the flashy high heels, pushing herself to just make it to dawn. She has a determined hunger and a yearning. A yearning for a better life for herself and her family, perhaps a bigger need for the mother she never knew. That aching desire is eased by the film’s “bigger than life” star performance, that of Lopez as the club’s “Queen B” Romana. It begins with one of this year’s greatest screen entrances, as she glides on stage as though a goddess descending from Mount Olympus via a golden pole, granting every man’s desire to rid himself of his filthy lucre. Destiny is drawn to her as a moth to a flame, cooled by the finest furs. It’s nearly impossible to shift our gaze from Lopez, as she begins her grooming and seduction of Wu. Romana is one tough taskmaster as she mentors D on the finer points of “stagecraft”, and later as she acts as “big sister’ to the gobsmacked guests in the back. But Lopez is not all “fairy fabulous godmother”, as we see her ruthless inner mastermind come into play, making D furious as she turns her attention to new “talent”. Speaking of talent, Lopez reminds us of her considerable gifts after being a “tabloid” (or maybe “TMZ) staple for too long, nearly being swallowed whole in ridiculous “rom-com” quicksand. I tried to recall the last time she was this compelling on-screen, until another reviewer mentioned OUT OF SIGHT, from more than 20 years ago. She’s a true force of nature here, and the main reason to see this film. Plus she gets great comic support from the other members of the “sista'” quartet. Palmer gives a bubbly funny performance as Mercedes, while Reinhart exudes both innocence and sensuality as the “fast learning” Annabelle, reminding us of the joyous spirit of the late, much-missed Britanny Murphy (just a shame her character spends a third of her screen time barfing…a tired running gag). Added to the mix is Julia Stiles (where have ya’ been) as the “after the facts” reporter who serves as an audience surrogate.
Director Lorene Scafaria (who also adapted Jessica Pressler’s magazine article for the screenplay) really captures the feeling of female friendship and support in those early scenes at the club. For instance, when Liz (played by singer Lizzo) announces to the ladies that a (real life) celebrity has just walked in, they make a quick dash from the dressing room to the stage, as though a fire alarm went off. Those little anecdotes are entertaining, especially as Ramona acts as Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn to Destiny’s Obi-Wan. The light-hearted tone gets a bit darker as they “fish”. But the pace completely stalls out as the ladies do the PRETTY WOMAN-style shopping montages. Then the story’s train derails with a Christmas party sequence that desperately needed another pass or two by the editor (the flick’s a good 15 minutes too long). It lessens the impact of the even darker third act when it’s time to “pay the piper”. That’s when we get to see the vicious side of Ramona, ripping the phone away from Destiny as she listens to the desperate pleas of the patsy that will hasten their reckoning. The marketers are selling this as a breezy “con job” comedy, but that scene is a true heartbreaker. The same goes for the final fade-out, an emotional “gut punch” that really tugs at the ticker. It’s just a shame that the sluggish over-indulgent midsection dilutes its impact (and was all that smoking needed). But it doesn’t take away from the terrific work of Lopez. She’s the main reason you should spend some time at the multiplex with these HUSTLERS.
2 Out of 4
