In last week’s Hustlers, a group of women turned to crime and it felt good. Here, not so much.
In late 70s New York, three women, whose Irish mobster husbands have just been sent to jail, decide a career change is long overdue.
Kathy, Ruby and Claire (Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss) start offering protection to local firms, who eagerly accept the help, angering local heavy Little Jackie (Myk Watford). Jackie is the kind of man who attempts to rape women in broad delight.
But don’t worry, our heroines can handle him, especially once they attract the attention of smouldering, angelic hitman Gabriel (Domhnall Gleeson). Also offering support is the head of the Brooklyn Mafia, Alfonso Coretti (Bill Camp), who’s wry and honourable. And possibly even a feminist.
Soon our heroines are the toast of the town. They promote workers’ rights, fight racism and go to discos where they dance like superstars. When not doing the above, they bump off people they don’t like (a homeless man here, a mother-in-law there) and we’re supposed to cheer them on because, hey, they’re complex women, sisters doing it for themselves.
You get what first-time director Andrea Berloff is going for, which is a marriage of pitch-black comedy and dirty realism. But since the film is neither funny nor plausible, the result is an unholy mess. It’s not even well acted.
Moss, somehow, retains her dignity but McCarthy and Haddish are made to look like amateurs. I’m a fan of both women. Get me outta this kitchen.
