The Hustle

There is a specific kind of bravery—or perhaps a very high-stakes brand of hubris—required to step into the tailored shoes of Michael Caine and the manic, frantic energy of Steve Martin. When I first heard that The Hustle was going to gender-flip the 1988 comedy classic Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, I’ll admit I felt a twinge of "remake fatigue." We were, after all, in the thick of the late-2010s trend where Hollywood’s primary creative engine seemed to be: "Take a hit from the 80s, swap the chromosomes, and see if it sticks."

I watched this particular outing on a Tuesday afternoon while my neighbor was power-washing their driveway. The rhythmic, aggressive whoosh of the water against the pavement strangely synchronized with Rebel Wilson’s various pratfalls, creating a sort of unintentional 4D cinema experience that, frankly, kept me more engaged than the first twenty minutes of the script did.

A Tale of Two Grifters

The setup remains as reliable as a Swiss watch, even if this version feels more like a colorful plastic Swatch. We have Josephine Chesterfield (Anne Hathaway), a high-society enchantress who fleeces billionaires in the fictional coastal town of Beaumont-sur-Mer. She’s all precision, logic, and impossibly sharp jawlines. Then, crashing into her curated world like a wrecking ball in a track-suit, is Penny Rust (Rebel Wilson), a low-rent con artist who specializes in the "fake profile picture" grift.

The chemistry here is the film’s primary engine, and your mileage will vary based entirely on how much you enjoy Rebel Wilson’s specific brand of chaos. Hathaway is clearly having a blast, leaning into a series of increasingly absurd accents (her faux-German "Dr. Schaffhausen" is a highlight) and playing the straight woman with a frosty, calculated elegance. When she's onscreen, the film feels like a polished, high-gloss production. When Wilson takes the lead, it pivots hard into broad, physical slapstick. It’s a jarring mix—like trying to pair a vintage Bordeaux with a Neon-Blue Gatorade—but in the streaming era, that kind of erratic energy is often exactly what a bored Tuesday audience is looking for.

The 2019 "Scam-Core" Context

Released just as the world was becoming obsessed with real-life grifters like Anna Delvey and the Fyre Festival, The Hustle should have felt more biting. Instead, it plays things remarkably safe. Directed by Chris Addison (a man who knows his way around cynical wit from his time on Veep), the film occasionally misses the satirical edge that made the 1988 version so enduring. However, it’s fascinating to see how the script—co-written by Jac Schaeffer, who would later go on to mastermind the brilliant WandaVision—attempts to update the gender politics.

In an era of #MeToo and a heightened awareness of representation, the "dirty rotten men" being targeted here are often portrayed as deserving marks. The film leans into the idea that men are easily manipulated by their own egos and preconceived notions of what women "should" be. It’s a clever lens, even if the movie doesn’t always trust the audience enough to let the subtext breathe. It’s the kind of film that constantly feels the need to tap the sign and remind you why the joke is funny, rather than just letting the punchline land.

Behind the Curtains of the Con

Despite a lukewarm critical reception, The Hustle has developed a persistent life on streaming platforms, carving out a "comfort watch" niche for people who just want to see beautiful costumes and the French Riviera. Speaking of costumes, Emma Fryer deserves a shout-out for Anne Hathaway’s wardrobe alone; those outfits are doing a significant amount of the heavy lifting in terms of world-building.

Here’s some of the stuff you might have missed while watching the heist unfold:

The film was originally titled Nasty Women, a direct nod to the 2016 political discourse, but was changed to the more generic The Hustle before release. Anne Hathaway reportedly spent weeks working with a dialect coach to master the various accents required for her "characters within the character." Rebel Wilson, who also served as a producer, fought hard for the PG-13 rating, wanting to ensure the film reached a wider audience of young women. Keep an eye out for Hannah Waddingham in a brief but memorable role as Shiraz. This was just before she became a household name in Ted Lasso. * The "tech prodigy" mark, played by Alex Sharp, was a deliberate pivot from the original’s "soap queen" target, reflecting 2019's cultural wariness of Silicon Valley's boy-wonders.

Ultimately, The Hustle is a breezy, if somewhat disposable, addition to the heist genre. It doesn't quite reach the heights of its predecessor, mainly because it lacks the mean-spirited bite that made the Caine/Martin rivalry so electric. It’s a film designed for the 5-minute-test generation: it’s colorful, the gags come fast, and Anne Hathaway is always wearing something spectacular. It’s not a masterpiece of cinema, but if you’re looking for a low-stakes escape where the scenery is beautiful and the villains are just slightly more charming than the marks, you could do much worse.