Hustlers (2019)
September 14, 2019 2:08 PM - Subscribe
Inspired by the viral New York Magazine article, Hustlers follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.
The original NY Mag article The Hustlers at Scores
Twitter round-up of some of the first post-TIFF reactions
ETVDW at Vox: Hustlers asks what Goodfellas would look like if it were about women. It rules.
Jezebel review: Hustlers Makes Class War Fun
Vanity Fair: Jennifer Lopez Dominates in a Quintessential American Story
Metacritic
Letterboxd
...& if you need post-movie workout inspo, Jennifer Lopez shares her pole-dancing classes on video
The original NY Mag article The Hustlers at Scores
Twitter round-up of some of the first post-TIFF reactions
ETVDW at Vox: Hustlers asks what Goodfellas would look like if it were about women. It rules.
Jezebel review: Hustlers Makes Class War Fun
Vanity Fair: Jennifer Lopez Dominates in a Quintessential American Story
Metacritic
Letterboxd
...& if you need post-movie workout inspo, Jennifer Lopez shares her pole-dancing classes on video
There were a number of weird editing choices (blanking out the audio) at points in the movie. I understand why they were done (when the reporter's recorder was turned off, for example) but they felt really jarring. Yes, it was part of the framing device, but the framing device wasn't really strong enough to support the vision of the director/editor.
I thought it was an interesting exercise to see which actors ended up exposed and which ones managed to keep most of their modesty covered.
Overall, it was a decent movie and a nice break from the super hero blow ups.
posted by sardonyx at 2:49 PM on September 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
I thought it was an interesting exercise to see which actors ended up exposed and which ones managed to keep most of their modesty covered.
Overall, it was a decent movie and a nice break from the super hero blow ups.
posted by sardonyx at 2:49 PM on September 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
sardonyx , i had the same observation last night when we saw it, that some of the style choices just seemed weird. My spouse, too, pointed out that they were in service of the whole reporting device, which i acknowledge but feel like it wasnt really put to its best (or any?) use?
enjoyable nonetheless.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:02 AM on September 16, 2019
enjoyable nonetheless.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:02 AM on September 16, 2019
ALSO I COULDNT STOP THINKING ABOUT WHATEVER HAPPENED TO Mr BRUCE?
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:03 AM on September 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 9:03 AM on September 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
I also wanted to know how Constance Wu's character end up looking like she had money and success (based on her clothing and appearance when she was talking to the reporter). Sure the tag on the end described her sentence, but we're still left hanging between that and her current situation.
(And, as you said, Mr. Bruce' fate was up in the air.)
posted by sardonyx at 1:58 PM on September 16, 2019 [3 favorites]
(And, as you said, Mr. Bruce' fate was up in the air.)
posted by sardonyx at 1:58 PM on September 16, 2019 [3 favorites]
it looked like Destiny had a crush on Ramona but that plotline wasn't explored.
posted by brujita at 10:55 PM on September 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by brujita at 10:55 PM on September 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
The movie spends far too much time on the Christmas party. This is a tight 90 minute film squeezed into 110 minutes.
The opening feels a lot, a LOT, like The Big Short. The way it has characters explain how the club works while they dance, particularly.
Am I wrong in thinking that the 'big spenders' who were dropping 10-15k a visit seemed unrealistic? Like, fine, if you're entertaining a client or showing off for your friends I could see spending that, but if you're going in the back door, alone? You would probably be getting more than a lap dance for that money.
posted by graventy at 7:26 AM on September 17, 2019
The opening feels a lot, a LOT, like The Big Short. The way it has characters explain how the club works while they dance, particularly.
Am I wrong in thinking that the 'big spenders' who were dropping 10-15k a visit seemed unrealistic? Like, fine, if you're entertaining a client or showing off for your friends I could see spending that, but if you're going in the back door, alone? You would probably be getting more than a lap dance for that money.
posted by graventy at 7:26 AM on September 17, 2019
Meh, I don't know about an Academy Award for JLo for this. Not unless Constance Wu is also nominated.
You would probably be getting more than a lap dance for that money.
One would hope so, otherwise that's just sad. But now I get why in some municipalities alcohol can't be served in strip clubs, at least not legally.
how Constance Wu's character end up looking like she had money and success
The movie seemed to suggest that she had exceptional ability to manage financial stuff. (Which to me edged right up on a stereotype about Asians being good a math.) I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up doing something with finance.
posted by fuse theorem at 3:57 PM on September 17, 2019
You would probably be getting more than a lap dance for that money.
One would hope so, otherwise that's just sad. But now I get why in some municipalities alcohol can't be served in strip clubs, at least not legally.
how Constance Wu's character end up looking like she had money and success
The movie seemed to suggest that she had exceptional ability to manage financial stuff. (Which to me edged right up on a stereotype about Asians being good a math.) I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up doing something with finance.
posted by fuse theorem at 3:57 PM on September 17, 2019
I enjoyed it. As with The Kitchen, I notice that some of the reviews are uncomfortable with glamorization of behavior the analogy to which would be blithely accepted in a movie about men antiheroes. J-Lo brings loads of charisma. Constance Wu felt more limited and blank to me despite being the narrator.
My friend who used to be a sex worker in Manhattan at/around that socioeconomic level said that the details and dynamics were surprisingly accurate for the most part, though the cash-throwing was exaggerated.
posted by praemunire at 9:30 AM on September 21, 2019 [6 favorites]
My friend who used to be a sex worker in Manhattan at/around that socioeconomic level said that the details and dynamics were surprisingly accurate for the most part, though the cash-throwing was exaggerated.
posted by praemunire at 9:30 AM on September 21, 2019 [6 favorites]
I enjoyed it, but don't think it fully attained the potential I'd been hoping for. For one, there seemed to be little pov on the characters actions, specifically towards the end. I get that it was trying to come across as 'this is what happened', but I'd have hoped for a little more perspective in either direction if the movie feels either the exploitation or the failing prisoners dilemma.
posted by Carillon at 1:16 PM on September 23, 2019
posted by Carillon at 1:16 PM on September 23, 2019
The Feminist Big Short was good (if poorly paced) and also very gay.
posted by latkes at 7:34 AM on September 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by latkes at 7:34 AM on September 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
The muscles on JLo during her pole dance!
I too spent a lot of time considering who showed how much and why, it was an interesting look into the dynamics of Hollywood power.
The movie was not at all what I expected, which was really nice. I expected a lot more ensemble and con, and instead we got a lot of friendship over a long period. I do think that the lack of change in hairstyles over a good decade, especially that weird uneven cut Destiny had, was distracting.
posted by jeather at 6:04 PM on September 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
I too spent a lot of time considering who showed how much and why, it was an interesting look into the dynamics of Hollywood power.
The movie was not at all what I expected, which was really nice. I expected a lot more ensemble and con, and instead we got a lot of friendship over a long period. I do think that the lack of change in hairstyles over a good decade, especially that weird uneven cut Destiny had, was distracting.
posted by jeather at 6:04 PM on September 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
Um I loved it. It was like if you wished the Big Short but sexier and more disdainful of Wall Street, and full of so many more interesting women.
posted by ChuraChura at 8:46 AM on September 28, 2019 [11 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 8:46 AM on September 28, 2019 [11 favorites]
An interesting take on the movie written by a stripper.
posted by jeather at 9:04 AM on September 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by jeather at 9:04 AM on September 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
Weirdly, I wanted more friendship and more scamming. This doesn't make sense except perhaps as a barely-hidden wish that everything worked out great for Destiny and Ramona. Their relationship was really interesting -- and the movie did a great job playing up the jealousy Destiny felt toward Dawn (who, regardless of Destiny's jealousy, was also clearly not the best person to do crimes with).
Jennifer Lopez is so good in this. She has almost too much charisma for most of her roles, so it's great to see something where her glow works for the movie rather than against it.
posted by grandiloquiet at 6:46 PM on January 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
Jennifer Lopez is so good in this. She has almost too much charisma for most of her roles, so it's great to see something where her glow works for the movie rather than against it.
posted by grandiloquiet at 6:46 PM on January 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
I just watched this last night... I see you all comparing it to The Big Short but I really, really think the comparison is Goodfellas. This is as clear a gender-flipped Scorsese movie as I've ever seen or heard of. The glamour of crime...the camaraderie between the criminal characters...the eventual comeuppance that audiences forget is there because the sexy crime parts were so fun and entertaining. It's brilliant. I LOVE it.
The fact it didn't get Oscar noms is one of the clearest examples of misogynist bullshit I've ever seen. Maybe if Scorsese himself had directed it the Academy would've paid attention. This is every bit as good as Goodfellas, Wolf of Wall Street, etc - it's only the part where it's by and about women that seems to have made people not treat the film as seriously.
posted by dnash at 8:48 AM on January 15, 2020 [5 favorites]
The fact it didn't get Oscar noms is one of the clearest examples of misogynist bullshit I've ever seen. Maybe if Scorsese himself had directed it the Academy would've paid attention. This is every bit as good as Goodfellas, Wolf of Wall Street, etc - it's only the part where it's by and about women that seems to have made people not treat the film as seriously.
posted by dnash at 8:48 AM on January 15, 2020 [5 favorites]
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posted by miss-lapin at 10:04 PM on September 14, 2019