HUSTLERS - There’s (sisterly) love in this club (Spoilers)

Hustlers gained almost immediate critic and audience approval. It’s being called one of the biggest surprises of the year. This has people asking, how could a female stripper movie be more than what it is at face value—sex, luxury, glamour, and a fuck-ton of glitter? It’s easy to blame sexism for the negative expectations this movie has had since the trailer dropped, but that’s not all there is to it. What upset people most was Cardi B. Her participation in the movie after she admitted to drugging men and taking their money caused quite a stir. But she’s Cardi B, so for the most part the general public has chosen to forgive her. Perhaps the studio was going for a little controversy in casting because they also cast Lili Reinhart who was criticized for doing a pole dance as a teen character on Riverdale. With all the controversy, people were honestly fearful of this movie—and not just because the stilettos themselves could be used as military grade weapons. People were scared because how do you possibly remain feminist when clearly these women were mistreated…but they were also drugging men and stealing their money? They used the means at their disposal to survive in a very harsh world. It’s easy to feel like “ehh, they did what they had to do” once you see the context behind the actions. I rooted for these girls for the whole movie, but by the end I definitely wasn’t denying that they were criminals.

There are generally two stereotypes used to describe the evils of men and women. Men are violent and women are manipulative. This is why we say things like men are prone to sexual assault and women are prone to having sex for money. In Hustlers, the girls are lashing out at men that the movie portrays as being pretty shitty people. I couldn’t help but think to myself at some moments that they deserved exactly what they were getting. But then the ending came and I felt guilty. When Doug’s (Steven Boyer) story is revealed and we see that Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) has started to scam men who really don’t have the money to spare, we feel more guilt. Destiny (Constance Wu) is also feeling guilty. We discover that Doug’s just really not happy in his life at the moment, and honestly is it really a crime to go to a strip club? No. Some may frown upon it but Hustlers is very direct in assuring the audience that strip clubs aren’t just frequented by creeps, or rich assholes, or guys who would stuff monopoly money into thongs instead of paying up. Some women love to strip, and some men love to watch. We can’t label stripping as sexist.

Hustlers makes sure to humanize its female characters before getting into the diabolical stuff. We get to know them and their motives, their friendships, and the family they eventually make. The performances by all of these actresses was absolutely amazing. I literally teared up when it was Christmas and I probably will watch this movie again around the holidays just to see that scene. It’s nice to see a good movie about a group of girls grinding (pun intended) to get what they want and succeeding. The sisterhood in this movie was epic and no male character is truly fleshed out until the end to remind us that these men they are stealing from are human too. As the movie suggests, if we look at people as people, rather than at their sex or job or the stereotypes we may associate with these, then we can begin to see the harm we do in the world by telling people who to be.

Director Lorene Scafaria made a great choice by turning this true story into a film. And she managed to turn a hard story to tell into one that is not just entertaining, but also unbiased. I didn’t feel like she was attacking men, or women, or strippers. It was just an honest portrayal of what some people will do to survive when they are backed into a corner. In these case, survival turned to greed. The women got greedy and power-hungry, just as the men they served were greedy and power-hungry. There was guilt involved, trauma, and a lot of emotion from both men and women. The emotion sells the story. And the music. The soundtrack is a wonderful throwback. This movie is funny and the soundtrack adds to that element while also being sexy and atmospheric.

Also, let me just say that JLo pole dancing may be one of my favorite movie scenes of the year.

Rating: 5/5

Did you think the movie was entertaining? Funny? A good social commentary? Or were you distracted by the glitter?

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