- Actors: Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson, Alex Sharp, Dean Norris
- Director: Chris Addison
- Writers: Stanley Shapiro, Paul Henning, Dale Launer, Jac Schaeffer
- Producers: Rebel Wilson, Roger Birnbaum
- Disc Format: NTSC, Subtitled
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1), French Canadian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Subtitles: French Canadian, Spanish, English
- Region: Region A/1
- Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
- Rated: Parents Strongly CautionedPG-13
- Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
- Release Date: August 20, 2019
- Run Time: 94 minutes
There was online
outrage with the decision to turn Ghostbusters
into a female franchise. Whether it was coincidence or design, the gender
reversal of old films shifted to properties with far less of a devoted fanbase.
This meant less controversy over the repurposing of the material for female
protagonists, but it also meant far less interest. There may have been no
pushback for a gender reversal Overboard
or What Women Want, but that’s
probably because few people had little interest in the original narrative to
begin with. I’m afraid The Hustle
falls under this category, with most younger audiences unlikely to have even
heard of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and
fewer the one that came before. The biggest problem with the film isn’t a derivative
story, however, but the way that it loses all of its bite in an effort to make
sure a feminist message lasts, even when it contradicts the themes and
structure of the original film.