Jennifer Lopez’s role as Ramona, the ringleader of a group of savvy former strip club employees who team up to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients, is arguably Lopez’s best performance to date. As impressive as her solo pole dancing routine near the beginning is, even without it, Hustlers is still a remarkable turn for Lopez.

Set in New York City before and after the 2008 financial crisis, the audience gets introduced to the world of the strip club employees through newcomer Destiny (Constance Wu). Destiny wants to be able to take care of her grandmother but soon finds herself disillusioned after learning of the harsh realities of the strip club life. Then she meets Ramona.

Lopez’s Ramona is the shining light, performance-wise, in Hustlers. However, it’s her performance alongside Wu’s Destiny that did well to maintain the emotional core of director Lorene Scafaria’s female-strong movie. The well-chosen music, editing and pace also played their part in keeping my attention and delivering an overall fun experience. 

Seeing women taking charge of themselves and taking care of each other is another reason I had a good time watching Hustlers. As fun as it was, considering all the crime that took place throughout, I found myself reminded of just how terrible a criminal I would be. Particularly because I’d be far too busy vividly imagining everything that could go horribly wrong to actually take steps towards breaking the law.

Watch Hustlers because it’s fun. It’s also scary in parts, as one might expect.

Happy Film Loving,

G