“The whole country’s a strip club. You’re either the ones throwing the money, or you’re the ones dancing for it,” says one of the main protagonists in ‘Hustlers.’ If you’re worried about this movie being just another ‘Showgirls,’ don’t be. Inspired by true events, director Lorene Scafaria adapts a New York Magazine article about strippers fleecing Wall Street guys out of their money after the 2008 recession. The film garnered rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival. There are many reasons why it works. The movie is directed by a woman, stars women and is about female empowerment. ‘Hustlers’ is an absorbing crime caper/female buddy film decked out in stiletto heels.
The movie opens with an explosive scene. We enter the neon glitz of Moves nightclub (Scores in real life) through the eyes of Destiny (Constance Wu). She’s captivated by the performance of Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) on the main stage. As the Fiona Apple tune ‘Criminal’ blares, you are blown away by Lopez’s moves as an exotic dancer while businessmen throw money at her. It’s a powerful opening scene because it illustrates a veteran dancer in complete control over her audience. Since Destiny is the new girl, she is impressed with Ramona’s skills. During a smoke break on the roof, they become fast friends. The next scene is comical and cute. Ramona shows her how to work the pole and the proper way to do a lap dance. This is a career-best performance by Lopez. It is like this role is tailor-made for her.
At first, everything is above board. Ramona and Destiny work as a team as they take the suits into the VIP lounge and cha-ching, charge up their credit cards. Life is good for the girls as they go shopping on Fifth Avenue. Underneath the spending binges, we find out that they are both single moms trying to keep a roof over their head and provide for their daughters. There is also a strong bond between the two women. Destiny has a loyalty to Ramona. Even when they display unlikable qualities, it is difficult not to admire their business savvy. When the 2008 recession hits, less money is thrown around the strip club.
As work dries up, Ramona devises a scheme to go after bigger money. With the help of Destiny, they concoct a mix of MDMA and ketamine and sprinkle it in the drink of unsuspecting marks. Then they drag him to the strip club and drain his credit card. The making of the drug cocktail will be reminiscent of the cocaine scene in ‘Goodfellas.’ In fact, Scafaria uses several Scorsese filmmaking techniques to tell the story. There is even a long tracking shot through the strip club that pays homage to the tracking shot in the Copacabana. It works well and never feels like she is ripping off the classic gangster film. Scafaria also displays masterful pacing throughout the narrative.
For a while, the scam works. Most of the dudes are too ashamed to go to the police since most of them are married. When the women decide to eliminate the strip clubs cut, they move their operation to hotel rooms. Ultimately it shows how these women make mistakes and it leads to their inevitable downfall. The story never completely exonerates the women. Everybody knows it is a bad thing to drug people. It’s indefensible. Yet, at the same time, these are the Wall Street jerks that made their money by stealing from all of us in the first place. These women had the power. They used sex as a weapon and the men gladly lapped it up. In some cases, the men went back several times before realizing they had been duped!
‘Hustlers’ is a smart and slick crime drama about female empowerment. It’s also worth checking out just to see Jennifer Lopez’s mesmerizing performance.
