Hustlers 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Review

THE MOVIE — 2.25/5

Plot Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, Hustlers follows Destiny (CONSTANCE WU), a young stripper struggling to make ends meet. That is, until she meets Ramona (JENNIFER LOPEZ), the club’s savvy top earner, who shows her the way forward making big bucks. But when the 2008 economic collapse hits their Wall Street clientele hard, Destiny and Ramona concoct a plan with their fellow strippers to turn the tables on the greedy power players.

Review: The opinions from the professional critics don’t usually sway me one or the other, but Hustlers is a movie that was a surprise box office success ($150 million worldwide) as well as with the critics (88%, 7.3/10; even the user’s rating of a 3.69/5 was respectable). So with some momentum, I had interest in this movie, and doesn’t hurt that the trailer I did see make it seem like an interesting, even unique crime-drama. Unfortunately the final product nowhere near lived up to expectations and instead I found Hustlers to be a middling film at best.

There’s not a whole lot that really works for Hustlers, not the narrative — which they hammer the message over the head with via actual narration at the end (about America being one big strip club) — nor the dialogue and even the “heist” element (it’s more of a con game) quickly loses steam and begins feeling more repetitive rather than anything approaching dramatic or suspenseful. Even Constance Wu, whom I’ve heard of but don’t recall seeing her anything else, doesn’t quite have that on-screen charisma to carry a film. Same goes for a supporting cast I generally like, including Keke Palmer and Julia Stiles, in a smallish role as the reporter whose work this film is based upon (article entitled “The Hustlers at Scores”).

However, the movie does pretty much hinge on Jennifer Lopez who looks absolutely amazing, and apparently did her homework to play a stripper going so far as visiting a club with her husband, Alex Rodriguez. As an added honor, she’s hit the big 5-0, but also gives a solid performance; I won’t go so far to say it’s worthy of an Academy Award nomination, yet easily was the brightest spot in an otherwise mundane and forgettable flick.

The movie has many issues, but perhaps the biggest one is it was hard to have empathy for any of these characters. No the ladies or the dudes they target, not even the one or two innocent bastards who, the brief scenes they have, are just okay guys, not married nor insanely rich; one of them, recently divorced, gets fired from their job as his corporate credit card was maxed out and is about to lose his home. Yet even then, it didn’t sway my feelings on the ladies either way.

The messaging also isn’t anything all that new, men or pigs (and here they are mostly caricatures), exotic dancers are used and abused. Got it. I actually think this would’ve been a more socially impactful film if they focused more on the industry and what the sex workers encounter but instead we get characters that are difficult to root for.

Hustlers was written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, marking her third feature film following 2012’s apocalyptic drama-comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and 2015’s The Meddler. Having seen neither of those movies, I can’t say what kind of a filmmaker she is, but based on this, and while she does attempt some long takes, the pacing did feel off, a bit slow at times.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.5/5

This release comes with a glossy slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy.

I can only guess the studio never anticipated the film’s success as we get an Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Lorene Scafaria, which I found to be interesting guiding viewers through the source material and working with the actors, and 2 Theatrical Trailers. And that’s it, no featurettes, not even a promotional one…

4K ULTRA HD VIDEO – 5.0/5, BLU-RAY VIDEO — 5.0/5

AUDIO – 5.0/5

OVERALL – 3.5/5

Hustlers had some potential and the story its inspired by was interesting, however in spite of an impressive performance from Jennifer Lopez, everything else was pretty much a letdown from the writing, direction and even unremarkable performances. This 4K/Blu-ray combo pack offers up fantastic video and audio transfers and the bonus features were lackluster other than the commentary track.