***IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED HUSTLERS THEN STOP READING THIS RIGHT NOW. THIS IS FULLL OF SPOILERS.***
Let's begin y'all. The story starts off with Destiny (played by the adorable Constance Wu) trying to work her way to the top of the pole (literally). In the highly competitive and sexualized industry she works in, it is more than understandable to feel insecure about your own standing -- but then she meets Ramona (played by Jennifer Lopez who EATS THIS ROLE UP SIS). Their friendship develops from learning some new tricks for the stage to them meeting each other's families and indulging in the wealth they are bringing in as a tag team. However, the world can be your oyster one moment and then your biggest bully the next. In this film, the bully was the 2008 financial crisis.
The pair drift apart while trying to make ends meet but find themselves back at the club that started it all. They start to bring in business together by meeting dudes at the bars - but realize they can make a shortcut to getting the big bucks they want all in some POWERFUL ecstasy (and its not from their moves). This is where the true chaos begins.
The movie truly puts you into the world of stripping with nearly every shot including some of the most athletic women EVER in the background doing moves that look like they require no bones (stripping is a sport and these women deserve all the respect in the world period). Rapper Cardi B does a bend in the beginning of the movie that certainly would have left me folded like a piece of paper. Singer Lizzo (who I am a proud stan for) really threw it BYKE in her cameo. This powerhouse of a girl gang (including childhood ICON Keke Palmer and the beautiful Lili Reinhart) start having to submit to the demands of New York's most powerful figures for no respect and a balled up dollar bill. They evolve to having these "giants" literally throwing their platinum cards at them to swipe at their hearts content -- making the women rich beyond their wildest dreams (like buying a Suburban in cash rich). They go out swinging until the very end and remained united in each other.
The theme of sisterhood runs deep in this movie, not even referring to the booming side hustle Destiny and Ramona create. In a world that constantly raises the standards for what's sexy and what men will find "desirable", these women (literally) put it all out there with so much confidence despite what they felt. This is a movie of the strength and perseverance of the female body and mind. The sensualness that people literally lose their minds (and wallets) over. The fact that (while definitely illegal) these women did what they saw as necessary to get a better life for not only themselves, but for everyone they loved and cared for. In conclusion...women are truly running society and the rest of y'all better catch up.
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Issa Hot Girl Fall, Behave Accordingly.
Maddie the MP