This humble opinion is brought to by you T. K. Edwards
THE HUSTLE – Rated PG-13 – 1 hr. 34 mins
Director: Chris Addison
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson, Alex Sharp, Dean Norris, Ingrid Oliver
Two con women try to settle their rivalry by betting on who can swindle a young American tech tycoon out of five hundred thousand dollars first.
NO SPOILERS BELOW
THE HUSTLE is a movie that should not have been made. All the trailers make it look like it is something completely different than what it really is, which is a remake of another remake. The first movie was made in 1964 entitled BEDTIME STORY starring Marlon Brando and David Niven. The second movie was made in 1988 entitled DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine. How many times are they going to remake this movie? It seriously didn’t need the remake after DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS because that one was so good that hardly anyone even knows it was a remake. THE HUSTLE is just flat out lazy filmmaking. It uses the same jokes and storyline as the first two, only this time around the twist is that the movie follows two women con artists played by Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway. Wilson plays the “small time” con artist in this version and all her jokes just poke fun at her appearance and her weight. The “fat jokes” are just as lazy as the movie because they come across as Chris Farley jokes only without the heart, humor and lovability he had. Anne Hathaway plays the other more successful con artist in THE HUSTLE, but just like her partner in this film she is just as lame. Neither one of them belong in this movie, but Hathaway is the bigger fish out of water. Her performance is like watching a very bad ventriloquist try an English accent. You can’t tell if she’s playing an American or a Brit, but either way it’s a forgettable performance. Actually both Wilson and Hathaway owe Steve Martin and Michael Caine an apology for this poor attempt at remaking such a great movie. It’s honestly a slap in the face to fans that love DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and to the actors in that previous film. Now, honestly, I’m biased (if you couldn’t tell already), which is why this movie bothers me soooooooo much. There was nothing new. Same jokes. Same scenes. Same deliveries. How this movie got a green light to be made, I’ll never know. And whoever did the advertising for this film – aka trailer – needs to be given an Oscar or their own slap in the face, because there is nothing in it to show any resemblance to this movie being a remake. Don’t waste your time watching THE HUSTLE in theaters or even at home. Let this one fade away into the nothingness of bad films that should have never been made. Until next time, thanks for reading.
P.S. – There is one post credit scene.
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 