The Hustle Review

The Hustle Review

Myla Tosatto

In the new movie, The Hustle, Penny (Rebel Wilson) quotes the esteemed Missy Elliott when she describes her philosophy to Josephine (Anne Hathaway) as “I put my thang down, flip it and reverse it.” That pretty much sums up the movie. It is a solid retelling of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (and Bedtime Story before it). Wilson and Hathaway replace Steve Martin and Michael Caine as said scoundrels. The niave Janet (Glenne Headly) has been replaced by Thomas (Alex Sharp), a tech billionaire. Though the genders have been swapped, it is a pretty straight (and hilarious) remake.

Penny is a small time grifter who finds herself in the beautiful town of Beaumont-sur-Mer. Problem is, this turf belongs to Josephine, a talented conwoman. Instead of fighting, Josephine takes Penny under her wing and teaches her the mastery of the con through many funny bits. After a rather tumultuous break up, they go their separate ways only to come back together to bet each other who can take $500,000 from Thomas first. Yes, you have seen it before . I already said that. What you haven’t seen is the comedic brilliance of Wilson and Hathaway sinking their Jimmy Choo’s into the roles usually dominated by men.

This is a fun girlfriend night out or date night movie. You can bring your older kids but be warned there are some adult situations as well as salty language scattered throughout.

Sure, you won’t see Steve Martin running and screaming “Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma” while he bangs on a pot, but it wouldn’t have been weird if you had. It is that close of a remake. If you liked the first or second go around of this film, you are going to love this one as well.

The Hustle is NOW playing in theaters!