Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
THE SOUTH OF FRANCE — Sometimes a great summertime comedy is exactly what the doctor ordered. I was hoping “The Hustle” could exceed my low expectations and possibly be the sunny laugh I was hoping for.
Unfortunately, there is a dark cloud hanging over the film keeping it from becoming a summer day to remember at the movies.
The film stars Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson as con artists trying to take advantage of a tech millionaire who is vacationing in southern France.
Sound familiar? It should, considering it’s a remake of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” which is itself a remake of the 1964 film “Bedtime Story.”
I was giving “The Hustle” the benefit of the doubt, and was just hoping for some good laughs and an enjoyable time. I wasn’t asking for some incredible storytelling or clever camera work, just entertainment. I have to say, I was let down.
Here are a few reasons you shouldn’t let “The Hustle” con you out of your hard-earned money:
It’s short on laughs
This is a comedy and therefore its purpose is to make you laugh. While I chuckled a few times, that’s not enough when you’re headed to a comedy.
If I’m watching “Avengers: Endgame” or “Shazam!,” I expect to laugh a few times and then get excited by the action. But if I’m headed to a film billed as a comedy, I better be laughing through most of it. The occasional giggle won’t suffice.
Most of the jokes in "The Hustle" fell flat and the few that did land were quickly glossed over by another weak attempt at a cheap laugh. Rebel Wilson’s crass one-liners only go so far and watching her fall down in a heap gets old after the fifth time in 12 minutes.
It’s not clever
Most times, the best part of a con or a heist film is how clever it is.
“Ocean’s Eleven,” is a great example. The film had some great actors, funny lines and the way they pulled off the heist was incredibly clever. Another great example is “The Sting.” The movie is a classic filled with clever twists and turns that keep you guessing and engaged all the way to the end.
Since “The Hustle” is a remake of a well-known film, the filmmakers needed to get clever to keep things fresh. “Ocean’s Eleven” is a remake that managed to keep things new and fun. Even “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” is a remake that gave us a new approach to an old story, but “The Hustle” didn’t do that.
Every twist and turn is given away if you’ve ever seen the Michael Caine and Steve Martin original. They just made the exact same film with different actors. You think I’m joking, but you’ll be watching it and realize that it’s the exact same scenario. It’s almost as if they took the script to “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and just updated the date and changed the names.
Also, for those who have seen the 1988 film, the ending to "The Hustle" is exactly the same.
It begs the question: If you were just trying to make the exact same movie, then why make it at all? Replacing the cast with female actors instead of male actors was not enough.
One good thing: It will make you want to watch the original again
Besides a few chortles, there is one thing I liked about “The Hustle" — it reminded me how much I really enjoyed watching Michael Caine and Steve Martin try to out-grift one another in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. It got me in the mood to watch that movie again.
Conclusion
Some remakes are well worth your time, but despite its best efforts to con you into thinking it's a worthy remake, “The Hustle” is one grift that doesn’t work.
“The Hustle” is rated PG-13 for crude sexual content and language. Check KSL.com this weekend for a parents content guide for the film.
