Hustlers

"Hustlers expertly navigates the complexities of chosen family, always asking what holds people together and what breaks them apart. It recognises that under capitalism, working-class single mothers will always be the ultimate hustlers. But it’s also so much fun! Largely set in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the film has been dubbed a “recession-era period piece”. From the fashion (Bebe, Baby Phat, Juicy, Ed Hardy, Von Dutch) to the soundtrack (Fiona Apple, Usher, Flo Rida, Britney) this depiction of the excessive, bejewelled glam of the late 00s is unparalleled."

"Hustlers gives Lopez her best role in years, as a woman whose warmth and charisma are inseparable from her decision to put herself first at any price."

"Elevated by Wu and Lopez, Hustlers is fun when it wants to be – succeeding more as an insightful drama about female camaraderie than a thorough meditation on gender politics and empowerment."

"Jennifer Lopez sizzles, confused tone fizzles."

"There are great supporting turns from Keke Palmer and pop star Cardi B, plus an all too appropriate cameo from a certain RnB superstar with a pronounced proclivity for strip clubs."

"[A]ided by Jennifer Lopez' career-best performance as a duplicitous diva, its celebration of female force and friendship is likely to draw and delight fans - particularly if they've first fortified themselves with a few frozen margaritas."

"Scafaria validates her heroines from the start by focusing on them as women whose internal struggles and friendships with each other are far more interesting than their obvious physical allure."

"Blessed with one of the most memorable entrances in recent cinema history, Lopez slinks through Hustlers with a deceptive ease, as in control of the film as her character is of her situation."

""Hustlers" humanises the women at its center, giving them boyfriends, backstories and, most importantly, agency."

"Lopez gives her most electrifying screen performance since "Out of Sight," slipping the movie into her nonexistent pocket from the moment she strides out onto a neon-lighted stage in a rhinestone bodysuit."

"[The Meddler] was [director Lorene] Scafaria's last effort behind the camera, and while it's a more than worthy showcase for her abundant talent, Hustlers rockets past it with mesmerising exuberance."

"A giddily entertaining homage to female power that illuminates bold ambition in its stars and director alike, Hustlers is the kind of era-defining film that Hollywood didn't know it needed."