Mario’s Musings: Hustlers
Going forward, since I’m doing both movies and television, and possibly even more (want a Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Final Fantasy VII Remake review?), these articles are now going by Mario’s Musings. It’s short and sweet and rolls off the tongue easier. I won’t be doing music reviews though, because honestly, no one wants to read about my thoughts on the Beastie Boys, Weird Al or Oasis. Unless you do, then maybe we can negotiate something where I pretend to know what I’m talking about when it comes to music.
And on that note…
Fellas, I ask that you all behave yourselves. Yes, this is a movie about exotic dancers. But it’s a movie about exotic dancers taking matters into their own hands to earn themselves a better living than the ones they currently have. So behave yourselves. Please.
It’s Magic Michelle, and it’s based on a true story.
The gist of the movie is this: Destiny, played by Constance Wu, tells her story to a reporter, played by Julia Stiles. She works at the strip club, but lives with her grandmother to help her with her bills. She doesn’t make nearly enough money to cover the bills nor does she have anything resembling a social life because bills are expensive. Destiny sees Romano, played by Jennifer Lopez, perform and sees the money she makes during her performance and decides to become her pupil. A partnership is born when she learns what marks the opposite sex can be when they go to an establishment like theirs.
Is it a sleazy scheme? Sure, but they’re mostly Wall Street guys, they can afford the losses. We’ve all seen the Big Short (right?), what are a few thousand bucks to guys like that?
The ladies all carry this movie extremely well. Constance Wu follows up her star-making role in Crazy Rich Asians to go toe to toe with stars like J’Lo and Julia Stiles. Their chemistry is spectacular, and their physical scenes are… well… great! Seriously, Lopez is an amazing athlete (yes, THAT SCENE is a sight to behold). Even Cardi B isn’t that bad acting wise.
And a personal favorite for me is Mercedes Ruehl as Mother, who plays the mother hen to all the dancers. She was part of one of my favorite romances on Frasier as Kate Costas, one of Frasier’s many bosses at the radio station, one he accidentally enters into a relationship with. Her part is small in this movie but she makes every moment count.
Anyways, this movie goes by the basic “based on a true story” formula of a typical rise and fall. We’ve seen it in Pain & Gain, and we’ve seen it in Wolf of Wall Street. When there’s a less than ethical rise, the hard fall always comes later. It’s a story we’ve seen play out plenty of times, and to be honest, it never gets old. If you’re looking for a good time at the theater, give it a watch.