Mark Reviews Movies: THE HUSTLE

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Review by Mark Dujsik | May 9, 2019

Few will know and fewer will recall the origin of the story that's the foundation for The Hustle. It was Ralph Levy's mostly forgotten 1964 film Bedtime Story, starring David Niven, as a high-class confidence man making his fortune in the French Riviera, and an unexpectedly hilarious Marlon Brando, as the low-class counterpart scrounging for spending cash and bed partners.

More will know and recall Frank Oz's 1988 remake Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. That version saw Michael Caine, as the upper-crust con man, being the surprisingly funny one and Steve Martin, as the low-rent sponge (albeit without the blatantly predatory behavior—at least until it becomes a matter of further conflict between the characters), being predictably hilarious.

It's important to note the origins of this comedic tale, if only because the existence of the first remake proves an important point: Remakes are not inherently a bad idea. The Oz film borrowed the same story, the same setting, the same gags, and the same slapstick tone. Through the strength of its performances and its energy and its screenplay's vital changes to the third act, though, the film was a remake that surpassed its predecessor. The first remake exists as proof that lightning can strike twice—with an even bigger flash and bang.

Now we come to this new version, which maintains the basic plot and character dynamics, while swapping the genders of the con artists and their marks. In theory, the casting is right. In theory, the concept of updating this story for modern times, when people are more aware of the potential for fraud and more capable of doing some quick background research on a stranger's claims, is a smart one. In theory, the notion of giving us two women who scam men provides a new angle for a story that started as a rather casually sexist lark (The most notable change in the 1988 film is how it suddenly turns the tables on the scoundrels).

A lot of things seem like good ideas in theory, only to be shattered by hard reality. That's the case here. This is the third and by far the weakest variation on the story that was originally written by Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning, then improved upon by Dale Launer, and now reduced to a shell of itself by Jac Schaeffer (The three previous screenwriters are also credited here, since almost all of the original material and the remake's changes remain in this version).

The plot remains unchanged, with Josephine (Anne Hathaway), an elegant and successful con artist in France, meeting Penny (Rebel Wilson), an Australian upstart in the confidence game, and fearing that the newcomer will bring unintentional, unwanted attention to her own schemes. Josephine tries to be rid of Penny with a couple of unsuccessful tricks and, then, takes the rookie under her wing, if only to convince Penny that all of her work on Josephine's turf will be unprofitable. Instead, Penny stays and implements her newly acquired skills.

The two tricksters agree upon a bet. Whoever can con Thomas (Alex Sharp), the creator of a successful phone app, out of half a million dollars wins. The loser has to leave town.

What's strange about this version is how rushed it is. It spends a significant amount of time establishing the characters and their "ethics" in the work of the con. For Penny, it's the look of dismissal or outright derision on the faces of men when she arrives for a date set up online. For Josephine, it's for the sense of empowerment, since men will never admit that a woman could be clever enough to outsmart them. The premise here may remain the same, but one senses the possibility of something different—almost subversive, even—about this new gender dynamic for the story.

Instead, though, the rest of the plot unfolds as the other versions do, although director Chris Addison seems to rely more on Wilson's improvisational comedy and Hathaway's steely coolness than the already-established gags. We get Penny faking a handicap (a lack of sight here, which results in the funniest exchange: When Thomas curiously asks if it's a case of "hysterical blindness," Penny responds, "I don't think there's anything funny about it"). We get Josephine pretending to be a world-renowned psychologist who could "cure" her. The details within and between the gags, which give us a better understanding of the characters and the lengths to which they'll go to maintain the scam, are missing.

The melody's the same, but try as the leads might, there's no music to the comedy here. The Hustle is a copy of a copy, half-heartedly reliant on the old and unwilling to take advantage of the potential of its new gimmicks, and it shows in almost every conceivable way.

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