“This is a story about control. My control. Control of what I say. Control of what I do. And this time, I’m gonna do it my way. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Are we ready? I am. ‘Cause it’s all about control And I’ve got lots of it.” – Janet Jackson
These are the song lyrics from Janet Jackson’s “Control” that open up Hustlers, and it’s a fitting lyric for the themes that run through the film. The film is all about the ladies of the film taking control of their circumstances, for better or worse, and running with it. The choices are all their own, and they control their destiny. From the first half of the film that teaches the art of working clients at the strip club to the desperate means of making cash these ladies resort to, they are not in control. Hustlers is all about empowerment, and it’s something that could be missing within its subject matter but beneath all the glitz, sexuality, scenes of making it rain & excess, the real story of Hustlers are the bonds that run between female relationships and what can be lost when loyalty takes the place of responsibility.
Strip clubs are all about selling a fantasy. For any of you that have been to one, none of it is real, but the idea is to make you believe it is. Strip clubs are all about the power of perception and falling for the perception that’s being sold to you. For men, it’s about becoming the most critical guy in the room, and that’s determined by how much cash you shell out. For the women, it’s about making the men think they’re running the show because of their deep pockets, but one thing is abundantly clear: the men are never in control. These ladies have read their marks well and know exactly how to warm up to them and make them spend the necessary money to satisfy their needs. For all the stereotypes about strippers, there is a certain amount of savvy and persuasion that goes into the business that requires a woman that has more going on there than her body and sexuality.
Movies about strippers have missed the mark on two very well-know occasions. First, there was 1995’s Showgirls, an NC-17 misfire directed by Paul Verhoeven that veers so far into camp that it has been a laughing stock of the film industry since its release. Then there was Striptease in 1996, a slightly better film and one that received more publicity for Demi Moore being paid $12.5 million for the role, a record fee for an actress at the time and her display of nudity. The film, directed by Andrew Bergman, was a critical disaster and its $33 million gross couldn’t match its $40 million budget.
If you notice, both of these films feature a profession driven by women as directed by men. Both of those films exploit their female characters and do very little to empower them. Perhaps one of the main reasons Hustlers works is because there is so much feminine power behind the production. The film is written and directed by a woman (Lorene Scafaria), edited by a woman (Kayla Emter), executive produced by a woman (Jennifer Lopez) & features a strong female ensemble. It’s also inspired by a “New York Magazine” article by Jessica Pressler that told the true story that inspired the film. All of these voices allow Hustlers to present the film in a way that a man couldn’t. It doesn’t exploit its characters; it cares about their motivations and, most importantly, it holds them accountable for their actions. Sure, scenes are celebrating their crime that start to unfold in Hustlers, but it also shows the consequences, and it doesn’t mark them as heroes. You understand why they go down the route they choose, but you’re fully aware that it isn’t right. This is a testament to all the talent involved because Hustlers is a lot of things, and it’s mostly successful at all of them.
When Hustlers begins, Destiny (Constance Wu) has just started working at Moves, the glitzy nightclub where much of the action transpires. Destiny’s insecurity and less than erotic dancing counteract her “new girl” appeal, which should make her a hit at the club. Things take a turn for her when a veteran performer, Ramona (Jennifer Lopez), takes an interest in her. Ramona teaches Destiny the basics of pole dancing and, most importantly, teaches her how to read the men in the club to optimize the amount of money she’ll make. Once she partners with her for private girl-girl shows where Wall Street big wigs drop thousands of dollars in a session, they’re on top of the world and make hand over fist. However, once 2008 arrives Destiny is hit with a personal appendage (she gets pregnant) and, along with her fellow dancers, the money stops rolling in for them to their clients being hit by the Wall Street crisis. In the aftermath, Destiny, Ramona, and their two compatriots, Mercedes (Keke Palmer) and Annabelle (Lili Reinhart), decide to booze up their clients so much that they don’t realize the amount of money their spending in a single night. Once this plan hits a snag with marks not always taking the bait, they step things up to using a ketamine/MDMA concoction to get customers blitzed and run up their credit card bills. This plan works for a bit with fruitful results, but a situation like this is bound to end badly especially when there are issues of evenly splitting the profits and the girls becoming sloppy in their execution of the con.
One of the best things about Hustlers is, despite its marketing, this isn’t a movie about strippers or even the strip club. The club is mere window dressing, and their profession is just a gateway into their lives. This is a movie about the characters, and while the weaponization of sex is prevalent, the circumstances of the characters and how they turn their victimization into an act of crime is thought-provoking and intriguing because so much time is given to developing them. These are women with kids, women who are kicked out of their homes because of what they do, and women merely trying to get by. These are cliches of the trade, but the film respects them and makes an argument that they have to do what they have to do to survive.
That’s not to say that director Lorene Scafaria doesn’t know how to sell the spectacle. Many critics have compared her style for Hustlers to something Martin Scorsese did with Goodfellas or Casino, and that comparison is pretty spot on in the film. She’s inspired by his style and considering that Scorsese was once interested in possibly helming this picture, she’s a more than an adequate stand-in. Hustlers opens with a long, unbroken shot that takes us through the strip club and allows us to feel the setting as if we’re spectators at the club. This is eventually followed up with a strip club crash course provided by Ramona that tells us it’s all about the tease as she identifies what kind of Wall Street workers make the best marks (always look for the wedding ring because they have more to lose, and if the tab gets too high, they won’t fight it because they wouldn’t want their wife to find out). This stripper primer so to speak is some of the film’s most compelling material within the club, and it also shows Scafaria’s love for Scorsese as it’s very reminiscent of the opening of Casino.
Scafaria is aided in her direction by editor Kayla Emter who are inspired by not only film but the flash and dazzle of music videos as well. There is kinetic energy in all of the club scenes, and they’re cut in a way that holds your attention. You’ll want to go to somewhere like Moves by the time the credits roll. Scafaria and Emter know how to make their performers look good whether it’s the girl-girl dances with Destiny and Ramona that are ultra sexy without even showing too much or Ramona’s entrance into the film that features an erotic dance to “Criminal” by Fiona Apple that manages to hit all the right buttons without being salacious. The women are shot with the respect they deserve, perhaps something a male director and editor couldn’t accomplish in a film like this.
Constance Wu is a fascinating actress. From Fresh Off the Boat to Crazy Rich Asians, Wu has shown a variety of shades that display her talents as a performer. With Hustlers, Wu plays against type and show even more range than ever before. She engages your sympathy early on, and her transformation from meek to embracing her power as a woman in charge is entirely believable.
Then there is Jennifer Lopez. Many are calling this a comeback role for her although that seems weird to say because Lopez hasn’t gone anywhere. She’s a top-selling music artist, selling out arena’s worldwide and her films have pulled in steady business at the box office. Perhaps it’s better to call this performance a rebirth of the actress we were introduced to in Selena and Out of Sight. I’ve always said that Jennifer Lopez possesses charisma and magnetic star power, something that can’t be taught, you have it. Along the road, Lopez took on films and roles that played it all a bit safe and while she’s right in those roles, it has been a while since she has been great and she’s truly great here. She owns every moment she’s on-screen, and she utilizes her “diva” persona to create a very layered performance that could’ve easily turned her into an unsympathetic figure, but Lopez even makes you understand Ramona’s intentions. The Oscar buzz surrounding the performance is genuine, and while I think voters may think the subject matter won’t be worthy of their time to acknowledge her, I think Lopez could have a solid shot at a Supporting Actress nomination if they’re open-minded enough. She’s that good here.
The supporting players add more color to the film with various personalities to relate to along the way. Keke Palmer, as Mercedes, is the comic relieve and she has a few great lines and moments that steal the show, and she is aided by Lili Reinhart playing the more innocent member of the crew, Annabelle. Reinhart also displays some solid timing and a running gag with her that could be gross is expertly played for laughs throughout the film. Julia Stiles is on hand an investigative journalist that helps Destiny tell the story via flashbacks, and she’s a welcomed presence while Cardi B, who knows her way around a strip club, gets a few scenes to display her love her or hate her personality. I happen to love her, and she got some laughs from my sold-out screening.
Kudos should be given for how Hustlers presents its story. The film rarely stumbles (I could make an argument that the overall climax is a tad rushed) but there is something great about how the film sells glitz, sex, excess, and raunchiness but then turns that all on its head by going beneath the service making it more about the nuances of the characters. Hustlers is essentially like a strip club. It’s selling a fantasy, but the truth is something far more different.
