The Hustle

This review may contain spoilers!

Every year has a comedy that is absolute atrocious; this would be this the contender for 2019. I would give The Hustle a 2/10.

The Hustle follows two con-artists, Josephine and Penny, who engage in a bid to outdo one another at conning a tech mogul. The aspect of this film that feels like it has a genuine aspect to it is probably when the women discuss why they do con-work, particularly how Penny decides to steal from men who have made an assumption about her and affirm it when she meets them face to face.

Anne Hathaway, who played Josephine Chesterfield, gives a good portrayal of multiple accents and identities throughout the feature; Hathaway's character is more conceited and scheming than Wilson's which means she always feels one step ahead. Alex Sharp, who played Thomas Westerburg, is this really charming role who just comes across as likeable; the chemistry Sharp has with Wilson is quite strong and how this plays into the final twist is acted well by him.

However, the best performance came from Rebel Wilson, who played Penny. This is a role who is constantly coming at scenes with a bit of energy and looking to bring something to the moment. I feel, as Penny, Wilson gets to play to the character's smug sense of satisfaction at her ability to swindle men who deserve to fall victims to her con. The romantic subplot between Wilson and Sharp is well played on both sides and leads to a couple of scenes with emotional undertones. Ultimately for a comedy film there isn't much comedy so it's nice to at least see Wilson bringing some moments of humour throughout the experience.

This film has a flat tone throughout, it is a comedy film with absolutely no pulse to it. There aren't any specific scenes where you'll find yourself bursting with laughter, nor is there any aspect of the plot that is wildly intriguing or engaging. The two main characters are awkwardly pushed together at the start and they remain together throughout despite there not being much need for it. The whole story around why Penny feels like she wants to stay with Josephine is flimsy and leads to a long sequence of events that contributes little to the overall film. Once Thomas enters the picture the film falls into the pair comedically playing two made up roles their characters have invented for a significant portion of the second act. The end of the film has a ton of moments in which scenes just get suddenly cut away from, which is the big premise for setting up a rather lazy twist that falls flat on its face. The third act is so small that you just feel like even the film itself was exhausted by that point. The film consistently suffered from wanting to be a traditional tongue in cheek American comedy or a more indie-style comedy, the clash was so extreme that what you were left with was near unwatchable. The cinematography used in The Hustle in boring to watch, there is no effort made to craft an interesting visual style. The editing is a problem on two fronts; for most of the film cuts come at boring intervals that slow the pace, but near the third act scenes begin to end abruptly or at irregular intervals in a meagre effort to create plot twists. The score for the film is very heavily French-inspired which feels quite removed from the cast at hand and contributes to the tone struggle at the heart of this film; the soundtrack for the film is very at odds with the score having a lot of trendy pop songs weaved around a more mellow symphony.

Casper Christensen, who played Mathias, plays a rather awkward creepy role who is given more screen time than is really necessary; Christensen has an almost manic approach to his comedy come his last scene that just doesn't do anything for the audience. Ingrid Oliver, who played Brigitte Desjardins, plays to a very monotonous tone when it comes to her character; Oliver is most comfortable when her role gets to give a flat, serious delivery of lines (which is most of the time). Nicholas Woodeson, who played Albert, is just in the film to lend a little physical comedy; Woodeson has a very easy role that can be inserted into any number of scenes and played by anyone. Dean Norris, who played Howard Bacon, looks about as lost in this film as I felt watching it; his one scene cameo was monstrous and Norris just looked perplexed and confused.