Movie Review - The Hustle - Rewatch Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Instead
Ah, The Hustle. It looked so winsome from the trailers. I like Rebel Wilson most of the time, and Anne Hathaway almost all the time. The promising premise: a comedy with two completely different brands of women, running high-stakes scams on rich men in Europe. I was excited to do the Peetimes for this film, expecting an evening of clever fun.
But then it entirely fell down in the execution, with a big old tiresome pratfall.
The Hustle was so very much like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but a whole lot less amusing, and oftentimes outright silly. And honestly, I like silly movies when I'm in the mood for it, but The Hustle is the bad kind of silly. I even wrote in my notes (during the last Peetime) "More of the stupid continues for several minutes."
I'm not saying this is a bad movie. It's just relentlessly mediocre, often tiresome, frequently awkward, and not as funny as it should be. Sometimes I cringed at the lazy incompetence of the script. I don't think I laughed out loud once, although I did smile here and there. The plot has a few minor payoffs that do work, especially in the beginning, but by the time the main con is underway, the fails start rolling in.
What else? The Hustle looks good, with sun-drenched sea-side location shots, luxurious outfits, and a boyishly cute male lead (Alex Sharp). There's good pacing, and some snappy banter. If you want to watch Wilson and Hathaway bicker and snipe at each other for an hour and a half, this might be your film.
Personally, I'd rather re-watch Steve Martin in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I'd have to view it again to see how it holds up with the passage of the years, but that's a film I have fond feelings for.
Grade: C-
Rated (PG-13) for crude sexual content and language
Genres: Comedy, Caper/Heist
https://runpee.com/quiz-rebel-wilson-the-newest-funny-gal-in-show-business/
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