Hustlers (2019)
The beginning scenes of Hustlers show an un-sugar-coated view of strippers at a low-class club. In a crowded “dressing room”, the girls talk about their bodies as the pieces of equipment they are, they aren’t shy, they look used and beaten down, and the clientele and atmosphere are so sleazy, it makes you feel like you’ll catch something merely by watching it. Then Jennifer Lopez shows up. She’s beautiful, sexy, confident, savvy, entitled – basically, she’s Jennifer Lopez.
There was such a buzz during last year’s awards season, claiming she’d been snubbed by not getting a Best Supporting Actress nomination. But she didn’t do any acting! She’s been an entertainer for thirty years, so for thirty years, she’s been beautiful, sexy, confident, and savvy. She may not feel entitled on the inside, but her outward persona certainly isn’t humble. In Hustlers, she may not be the same character she was in The Wedding Planner, but she’s not any different than the entertainer giving concerts since the 1990s. And although she had all the moves and said all her lines correctly, she was out of place. Constance Wu, the actual lead of the movie despite the lack of buzz about her performance, had a constant self-hatred in her eyes that showed she didn’t think she was worth anything more than the life of a stripper. Several girls in the supporting cast looked completely filthy, like they’ve been through the wringer every night for twenty years, and they had a deadened look in their eyes. Girls who become strippers don’t believe they’re worth a different life. They aren’t beautiful, with sensational figures, and they don’t live a glamorous life. Before Jennifer Lopez entered the picture, Hustlers was on track to showing it like it really is, but she didn’t look like she’d spent a single night in such a dive bar. She seemed like a high-class call girl – and there’s a huge difference.
While most female viewers will find the glamorization of the featured strippers disgusting, I was more sickened by how they chose to spend their money. Did they save it for a down payment on a house, invest it, start a college fund? No, they spent it on expensive clothes, shoes, handbags, and fur coats. I wouldn’t really recommend this movie for female audiences. It was clearly only made for men to drool over practically naked women bumping and grinding against a stripper pole and on clients’ laps. There’s a shocking lack of character development to show that the women who would choose such a life would have massive problems. Instead of an actual story, there’s a quick caper of dropping drugs into men’s drinks and robbing their credit cards, mixed in with scantily clad, titillating stripteases by beautiful women. Was there any man who watched this movie who thought badly of Jennifer Lopez and her gang? Or did they think, “Gee, I’d give up a few thousand dollars to have a fun night with those girls”? My money’s on the latter.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. There is a bit of handheld camera in several scenes, and that will make you sick. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to language, nudity, and sexual content, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
More Julia Stiles movies here!
There was such a buzz during last year’s awards season, claiming she’d been snubbed by not getting a Best Supporting Actress nomination. But she didn’t do any acting! She’s been an entertainer for thirty years, so for thirty years, she’s been beautiful, sexy, confident, and savvy. She may not feel entitled on the inside, but her outward persona certainly isn’t humble. In Hustlers, she may not be the same character she was in The Wedding Planner, but she’s not any different than the entertainer giving concerts since the 1990s. And although she had all the moves and said all her lines correctly, she was out of place. Constance Wu, the actual lead of the movie despite the lack of buzz about her performance, had a constant self-hatred in her eyes that showed she didn’t think she was worth anything more than the life of a stripper. Several girls in the supporting cast looked completely filthy, like they’ve been through the wringer every night for twenty years, and they had a deadened look in their eyes. Girls who become strippers don’t believe they’re worth a different life. They aren’t beautiful, with sensational figures, and they don’t live a glamorous life. Before Jennifer Lopez entered the picture, Hustlers was on track to showing it like it really is, but she didn’t look like she’d spent a single night in such a dive bar. She seemed like a high-class call girl – and there’s a huge difference.
While most female viewers will find the glamorization of the featured strippers disgusting, I was more sickened by how they chose to spend their money. Did they save it for a down payment on a house, invest it, start a college fund? No, they spent it on expensive clothes, shoes, handbags, and fur coats. I wouldn’t really recommend this movie for female audiences. It was clearly only made for men to drool over practically naked women bumping and grinding against a stripper pole and on clients’ laps. There’s a shocking lack of character development to show that the women who would choose such a life would have massive problems. Instead of an actual story, there’s a quick caper of dropping drugs into men’s drinks and robbing their credit cards, mixed in with scantily clad, titillating stripteases by beautiful women. Was there any man who watched this movie who thought badly of Jennifer Lopez and her gang? Or did they think, “Gee, I’d give up a few thousand dollars to have a fun night with those girls”? My money’s on the latter.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. There is a bit of handheld camera in several scenes, and that will make you sick. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to language, nudity, and sexual content, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
More Julia Stiles movies here!