253. The Hustle; movie review

THE HUSTLE
Cert 12A
94 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex references, infrequent strong language

The Hustle by name and The Hustle by nature. As co-producer and star, Rebel Wilson will be laughing all the way to the bank after her movie has made nearly $100m on a $21m outlay.

And that is despite making a film which is pitifully inferior to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels upon which it is based.

It is probably stretching a point to say she has conned audiences into thinking she is as funny as Steve Martin at his peak but anyone who is lured into thinking she might be is in for a huge disappointment.

My experience of watching The Hustle was that I just kept on thinking how better the chemistry was between Martin and Michael Caine than Wilson and Anne Hathaway.

For those who haven't seen Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, I shall not go into intricate detail of the plot but suffice to state that I knew exactly what was coming.

In Chris Addison's film, Hathaway plays the established con artist and Wilson is the rip-off merchant who wants to learn from her.

So, Hathaway reprises the English upper crust persuader while Wilson is more oafish or, in some people's eyes, a charmingly loud buffoon.

Hathaway's character agrees to embrace the pretender in an attempt to get rid of her and, when that fails, they go head to head.

I have no real idea whether there would have been a frisson between the two if they had been going over new ground but they look out of place, rehashing such a beloved movie.

But I have to confess that I became distracted by trying to predict to myself what would be coming next.

Yes, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has stayed with me for 30 years - it was a comedy classic which should never have been given such a shoddy remake.

Reasons to watch: Remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Reasons to avoid: Fails to elicit the laughs of the comedy classic

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 4/10

Did you know? Rebel may be an unusual name but it is tame compared to other members of her family. Her parents named her siblings  Liberty, Annachi and Ryot. 

Final word. Rebel Wilson: "We had the best time filming this, the film is essentially a two-hander with Anne and myself so it really did rely on our chemistry together and I had never worked with her before but was such a fan so luckily as a producer I was able to cast her in the movie and luckily she said yes and it really was just a wish come true.” Heavy Magazine

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