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HUSTLERS ***
Dir: Lorene Scafaria (15, 117 mins)
A true-life tale of strip club workers striking back, this balances some social justice with its titillation. Based on Jessica Pressler’s New Yorker article, this follows a group of strip club workers impacted by the global financial crisis of 2008. The Wall Street clients suddenly have no money to spend and a group of women at the Scores Nightclub decided to take the law into their own hands. They lace their boorish clients’ drinks with MDMA and get their financial details out of them whilst under the influence, stealing upwards of $100,000 a night. So embarrassed by their strip club shenanigans, the arrogant Wall Street pervs would rarely report the thefts, landing the women a tidy profit. Writer/director Scafaria humanises her characters, giving them backstories and grit beyond the usual cinematic clichés about strippers. Jennifer Lopez plays Ramona, the mastermind who takes Constance Wu’s Destiny under her wing with musicians Cardi B and Lizzo joining them in their seductive smash and grab, in a winning drama of empowerment.
Opens Sept 13
