Rated: M
Directed by: Chris Addison
Story by: Stanley Sharpiro & Paul Henning and Dale Launer
Screenplay by: Stanley Sharpiro & Paul Henning and Dale Launer and Jac Schaeffer
Produced by: Roger Birnbaum, Rebel Wilson
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson, Alex Sharp.
Loosely based on, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) starring Steve Martin, Michael Caine and Glenne Headly, The Hustle features two con-women: the low-brow Lonnie (Rebel Wilson) harking from Australia, and the high-class Josephine (Anne Hathaway) who’s decided to settle in the French Riviera where all the super-rich marks are just begging to be ripped off.
After conning her way through men willing to pay for her fake sister’s boob job, the ‘big-titted Russel Crowe’ decides to head to well, bigger waters.
Much to the disgust of super-snob Josephine, this con-woman from Cootamundra is muddying the pristine hunting ground she calls home: either she brings Lonnie in for training or Lonnie brings attention to her most obvious yet effective swindles, leaving any con exposed.
Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway make a good team as the snobby plum-in-the-mouth, skinny-girl-in-distress cover for the heartless con artist versus the crude and rude but gets the job done Aussie.
Rebel has still managed to win me over with her, I’m a bratful big-girl getting away with it because I’m adorable.
And we get some gems in the script, like, ‘You can’t cheat an honest man’ – the Danish gambling addict obviously not honest while trying to sell his wife’s precious jewels; he’s more a cross between a Nazi and Gollum a, ‘Nazi-Gollum.’
So there’s some funny moments and fresh ideas here, more than the reversal of genders in this re-make or refresh of a classic, con trying to out-con a fellow con.
Although, Steve Martin is hard to beat. I can’t tell you how many times I watched, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels growing up.
But The Hustle is a good bit of fun even if a bit light on the drama.