The Hustle

It lacked oomph. We need so much now when the movies are of such high quality. The acting was not the issue rather the script they had to work with. There were only a couple of belly laughs, and others that were funny but not hilarious. The setting was fine as well. Some nice views were on show. With comedies they have the opportunity to be ridiculous and far fetched with some superb lines thrown in for effect and to give good actors a chance to shine. A few twists and turns that you cannot see coming also helps. The actors were let down I think. The storyline needed to be more complex. The very best comedies are multi layered and clever. This one lacked all that unfortunately. There was little tugging of the heart strings as well. That can be omitted for a comedy but it helps as well. In depth characterisation was not there either. I did not connect much to any of them. There were a few surprises but I had guessed them or saw them coming. Maybe keep it for a TV movie later on. It is not in the realm of the fine comedies!

I had zero expectations and it turned out to be a total laugh-a-thone. There are hilarious moments in the movie that overrun the sometimes flawed or absurd script. Starts mildly slow and it builds up pretty well half way through. The ladies are very funny, Rebel Wilson is the female Zack Galifianakis! 8/10 and remember to watch the post-post credits scene!

I watched this at home on DVD from my public library, my wife skipped, she had a good e-book.

In a brief review, this same story, with a few changes, was the 1964 movie "Bedtime Story" with Marlon Brando and David Niven. Then the 1988 movie "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" with Steve Martin and Michael Caine. And now in 2019 "The Hustle", the biggest change being two female characters as the scoundrels, the hustlers.

"Scoundrels" is one of my favorite movies, I have watched it at least a dozen times over the years, so for me watching "The Hustle" was mostly to compare how they handled similar scenes. While I like both Wilson and Hathaway their characterizations are clearly inferior to the analogous roles created by Martin and Caine. The biggest thing this movie does for me is reinforce how good "Scoundrels" is.

For anyone who has never seen "Scoundrels" this will likely be a good watch, suitably entertaining. For all who have seen "Scoundrels" this remake offers very little.

Well.... I think the trailer is more funny than the movie itself. The script is not well written. Not many funny scenes and the acting..... was not impressed. At first I had high expectation because of the two main characters and was hoping to see great chemistry. Unfortunately it didn't deliver.

While not an academy award winning movie in any way, it was funny and refreshing like an old fashioned movie. Thank God no Marvel, or sex scenes or F words, or car crashes or special CGI effects. Wish there were more movies like this where you can enjoy a laugh without cringing or seeing another special effect. Loved Anne Hathaway. Her accents alone are worth the price of admission. So enjoy a good old movie with a plot that is funny and performances that are arresting. Don't listen to the bad notices. Everybody wants to see blood and guts nowadays. What a tragedy.