The Hustle is a delightful chaos of slapstick and silliness, serving up a female buddy comedy about two con artists prancing around the extravagant backdrop of the South of France—where both old money and champagne flow as liberally as bad puns. With Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson teaming up, we’re not just witnessing comedic prowess; we’re watching a riotous heist unfold in slow motion, and frankly, it’s our guilty pleasure.
In this cinematic escapade, we meet Josephine (Hathaway) and Penny (Wilson), who embark on a competitive mission to relieve a wealthy tech billionaire (think a charmingly young Mark Zuckerberg, played by Alex Sharp) of his hard-earned cash. The stakes? A bet to see who can snatch a hefty sum from this unsuspecting mark, all while staking claim to the “pirate’s rule” over the picturesque locales of Beaumont-sur-Mer. Because what else do you do in a place like that but scheme and dream, right?
Now, you might find the plot familiar. That’s because it gleefully borrows from the classic 1988 film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels—where two suave men also played games with the wallets of naive wealthy women. It’s almost like the universe decided it was time for a gender swap, but does The Hustle meet the stringent, politically correct standards of 2019? Spoiler alert: Not even close. And that’s precisely why it’s such a blast.
For far too long, the silver screen has been a playground for men to misbehave with impunity. Films like Ocean’s Eleven, The Sting, and A Fish Called Wanda have let male characters indulge their darker impulses while audiences chuckle along. Thankfully, The Hustle flips the script, following the trail blazed by last year’s Oceans 8 but with a heartier dose of classic villainy. Here, our heroines are not just anti-heroes; they are unapologetic, unrepentant hustlers who relish in their greed.
Consider this verbal sparring match between the sophisticated Josephine and the delightfully crass Penny:
Josephine: “Why are women better suited to the con than men?”
Penny: “Because we’re used to faking it?”
Josephine: “It comes down to one universal truth. No man will ever believe a woman is smarter than he is. We will always be underestimated, and that is what we use.”
As both actresses tap into their comedic genius, they scam their way through a parade of clueless oil tycoons and high-strung tech moguls. In one particularly eyebrow-raising scene, Penny pretends to be blind to gain sympathy from the oblivious billionaire. Is it politically correct to find humor in that? Probably not. But who needs political correctness when you have Rebel Wilson’s slapstick skills—an acrobatic talent so rare it makes Carol Burnett look like an amateur?
Of course, critics have sharpened their knives over this scene, but one must wonder: if a man had pretended to be blind for laughs, would the uproar be as loud? Or would we just nod and chuckle, patting him on the back for his comedic chutzpah?
The chemistry between Hathaway and Wilson is electrifying, their physical and comedic contrasts leading audiences through a supply of laughs worthy of their combined talents. The Hustle serves up a healthy dose of female-driven humor that may not definitively illustrate women’s superiority over men in intelligence—but does it really need to? The fact that they can be just as funny makes this film a riotous triumph in the buddy comedy genre.
The Hustle opens in theaters on May 10—mark your calendars, grab your popcorn, and prepare to relish the debauchery. After all, if you can’t beat the system, you might as well scam the billionaires.
