“Hustle” into theaters
Popular music, sparkling costumes and loads of money are only a few of the eye-catching features in the new movie, “Hustlers.” The film was released on Sept. 13 and was directed by Lorene Scafaria. Throughout the movie, the story of a group of dancers in New York is unraveled in the perspective of a journalism interview, conducted with one of the dancers.
I loved how the movie captured the “night out” feel by taking place mostly inside a club, showing people of different occupations who would go there and describing the work of the dancers. Destiny, played by Constance Wu, and Ramona, played by Jennifer Lopez, share the occupation of working in the clubs to support the different lifestyles they live. Destiny needs money to take care of her grandmother and Ramona wants to continue living a lavish lifestyle and providing for her daughter.
Both Destiny and Ramona become fond of one another after bonding about the work they do and the skills needed to partake in their occupation, and they begin to bring in large amounts of cash. Sadly, there was a money crash that caused the clubs to stop bringing in income. I felt bad for the main characters due to their great loss of money at work.
A few years later, the girls decide to start a side hustle of drugging rich men and taking them to the club, where they would essentially rob them and drain their cards. As I expected, Destiny and Ramona eventually get caught and the girls part ways after serving various sentences.
Since this movie was inspired by true events, it really opened my eyes to the real world and how in one way or another, each of us are doing the same. We are all looking out for ourselves, trying to make a living in this world or cheating the system to get to where we want to be. “Hustlers” was truly an inspiring movie because it allowed me to empathize with the people who are in jobs “looked down on” by society, since we do not know their own personal stories and struggles.
This movie demonstrated what it is like to have a strong sisterhood or “girl gang” by your side. Ramona and Destiny created their own group of “hustlers,” and in scenes where they were celebrating Christmas together or just hanging out in Ramona’s apartment, their group bond was evident.
Ramona and Destiny were powerful characters and good role models, not in the sense that they started a side hustle business, but due to their ability to stand for what they believe in and take responsibility for their actions. For one, Ramona was able to make a lot of money, and she was able to help her friends bring in a source of steady income even if it wasn’t in the best of ways.
Destiny showed great character by owning up to her actions and taking on all the consequences that came with the crimes she and her acquaintances committed. She also turned around her image of being a neglectful mother and began to nurture her daughter as a good parent should.
Overall, this movie presented many themes I enjoyed and gave the spotlight to a group of people that would not normally be seen in the media. This movie was able to shed light on club culture and how many stereotypes about the dancers’ work and lives may not be true to how society presents them.
