Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo and Cardi B. How are all of these women connected? They are all a part of the powerhouse, all-female cast of the newly released movie “Hustlers.” The world quaked when the official trailer was released in July, and we patiently awaited the premier this past Friday.
Photo from socialitelife.com.
“Hustlers” is a thriller that features a star-studded cast, and it is glamorous in every sense. However, it is based off of a very true story. Samantha Barbash, Roselyn “Rosie” Keo and Karina Pascucci, three real-life women, swindled New York City strip club goers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. They were arrested in 2014 and have since done their time in jail. The women have moved past the incident and helped tell their stories for the movie. Keo and Pascucci were especially involved in the making of “Hustlers” as a way to make sure there is integrity and that people do not make the same mistakes in the future. More information about the inspiration for the movie and the real-life story can be found here.
Cardi B, who is now a successful rapper, used to work as a stripper in New York City strip clubs that were very similar to the ones portrayed in this movie. In an interview by Good Morning America, she gave some insight into how easy it is to get sucked into a hustle like this. She said that she was constantly meeting men who would solely use her for her body, so she felt that the only fair payback would be to hustle those men for their money.
The iconic heist series “Oceans” has continuously produced successful films; however, they have always consisted of almost entirely male casts. In 2018, a spinoff of the trilogy was released under the name “Oceans 8,” which “Hustlers” has been compared to. Actresses like Sandra Bullock, Rihanna, Sarah Paulson and Anne Hathaway were only a few from the all-female cast. Although many people predicted that the film would be a flop, it was highly rated and brought some serious recognition to female empowerment in Hollywood in addition to giving the crime and con man genre a new female angle.
This was a great sign for “Hustlers” which brought in a record $13 million on its opening day and is predicted to do extremely well in theaters. This film shines a light on an array of important topics from feminism, to female empowerment, to federal crime. There are so many important lessons to be learned, and we can only hope that people continue to flock to theaters to see it.
