The Hustle (2019)

adison and Jeremy (Timothy Simons) meet up in a bar for a blind date. They’ve been texting for a month, but it’s evident that the only things Jeremy is interested in concerning this potential new partner are her large breasts. As it turns out, Madison isn’t the girl in the online profile pictures; in fact, there is no Madison. Penny (Rebel Wilson) has been running a scam in which she swindles gullible men into hundreds of dollars for, ostensibly, breast augmentation surgery (“If her tits were batteries, they’d go into a watch”). Her marks aren’t sympathetic, but neither is she – especially when she thinks nothing of assaulting police officers during her various getaways, which are inevitable when angered victims track her down.

Meanwhile, at Beaumont-Sur-Mer in the French Riviera, high class, international con artist Josephine (Anne Hathaway), using the alias Janet, engages in her own ruse to steal a valuable bracelet from a wealthy sleazeball. Her cozenage is far more well-connected, however, as she utilizes her butler and a local police inspector (Ingrid Oliver) to play parts in covertly wresting away the goods. “You can’t cheat an honest man.”

Though one is a top-notch grifter and the other a “pale gypsy,” Josephine and Penny soon choose to work together to amass a collection of pricey engagement rings – as opposed to squabbling over suitable targets in a town that seems too small for the both of them. This leads to a series of montages in which Penny is schooled in the fine art of upper-crust hornswoggling, which bizarrely includes “Mission: Impossible”-styled physical training, knife-throwing, and the tango (as well as a more practical cry-on-command lesson, resembling the comical failure of Nathan Lane’s John Wayne impression in “The Birdcage”). Apparently, they must become female superspies alongside mastering psychological manipulation.

Opening with a slapstick-filled cartoon along the lines of “The Pink Panther,” the film then immediately utilizes Rebel Wilson’s signature brand of comedy, in which she unleashes a torrent of racy one-liners. Many stick, but plenty do not, leaving numerous scenes feeling unfinished or stale. Though restricted by the PG-13 rating, the picture still manages a deluge of sex jokes and, sadly, fat jokes (“I’m salad intolerant!”), while at the same time offering engaging commentary on why women are superior con artists: men always underestimate them. It’s amusing to see these leading ladies team up (they’re comfortable and funny together), yet the moments of female empowerment tend to subside for the sake of masculine interruptions, paired with the uneasy notion that unchangeable criminals are the only protagonists. Even when a creeping conscience starts to become the turning point for possible redemption, “The Hustle” maneuvers in the direction of unexpectedness rather than ethical satisfaction.

Perhaps the most disappointing component of the film (which is a remake of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”) is the blandness of the cons. Instead of crafting elaborate heists (along the lines of “The Sting” or even the Ocean’s movies), the stratagems are deviations of simplistic rivalry, which eventually transition into a mere wager and then commonplace games of seduction. They also engage in overly theatrical roleplaying, boasting lavish costumes and revolving accents, which are occasionally funny yet pure fantasy; rarely does reality rear its ugly head, considering that there are countless consequences for illegal schemes. A few hilarious pranks are included, one of which garners belly laughs; but even in that sequence, it stops abruptly, swiftly moving along to additional gags rather than carrying it on further. It certainly wouldn’t have been repetitive to milk it for extra giggles. And the finale, though unpredictable, isn’t entirely agreeable; it’s as if this is just the first chapter in a morality tale that desperately needs to vindicate its heroes.

– Mike Massie