The Hustle(2019)

Plot Summary

• Penny (Rebel Wilson) has been a small-time con artist in Australia. She attracts young men like Jeremy (Timothy Simons) to blind dates using photos of her "fake sister" Madison, who is really hot. Penny then attends the blind date pretending to "scout" for right guys for Madison. She then asks for money ($500) as Madison is conscious about her small breasts and wants a breast enlargement surgery for her own self confidence. But Penny is chased by the police due to the complaint of a previous victim, and she decides that she needs a few weeks away till things cool down in Australia.Josephine (Anne Hathaway) is a sophisticated con artist with employees under her wing who cons some of the largest billionaires of the country. Josephine hangs around the casinos in the South of France and pretends to have won a lottery of $87 million. Josephine attracts a Danish billionaire named Mathias (Casper Christensen) who has lost big time at the tables (and the casino is no longer extending him anymore credit and won't take jewelry as collateral), with a large cache of her chips and pretending to be new to gambling. The billionaire gives her a large jewelry to buy her chips. She is then "arrested" by the police inspector Brigitte (Ingrid Oliver) (in reality her employees), for being a con artist and for having stolen the chips from an old man named Albert (Nicholas Woodeson). Josephine has to return the jewelry but swaps it for a fake. Their idol is the legendary con artist "Medusa" whose real identity is unknown.The two con artists finally meet on their way to the French Riviera (on a train to Beaumont-Sur-Mer), while Penny tries to persuade a man to buy her a free dinner (pretending that she is trying to raise money for her sister who has been kidnapped). Penny and Josephine are in the same compartment for the night, and Penny admits that she is a con artist, when Josephine asks about her sick sister.At first Josephine convinces Penny that Beaumont-Sur-Mer is a lesbian town, and that she should try her schemes at the next town on the railway line. But the next day, Josephine sees Penny ride into town with a billionaire named Gregor, who was supposed to be Josephine's next target. Penny gets arrested based on a complain by the conned billionaire Gregor (it was a fake arrest orchestrated by Josephine designed to scare Penny away from her town). Josephine bails her out (by taking $8000 of Penny's money to "bribe" the police) and insists her to leave the country as Gregor is a member of the Russian mafia.Josephine drops Penny at the airport where Mathias sees them talking. Mathias confronts Penny on the plane and wants his real bracelet back. Mathias says that his bracelet is worth $500 K and now his wife is filing for divorce as he doesn't have it. Mathias asks Penny is the police woman is part of the hustle. Penny finds out she was conned by Josephine, and she seems to be angered and thinks of revenge.Penny returns to the town asks Josephine to take her under her wing and teach her how to con the way she does. Josephine has no option as Penny threatens to expose her. It works at first as Josephine trains Penny on the physical and psychological aspects of being a female con artist.Josephine entices a Texan billionaire Howard (Dean Norris) to get engaged on the pretext that she is a bankrupt Royal Princess. But then, after rings are exchanged, she introduces Howard to her insane sister Hortence, and says that it is a family tradition that once the marriage is consummated, the younger sister gets to bed the groom or to engage him in a duel. Howard bolts, leaving his expensive ring behind. They repeat the con on multiple rich billionaires. But Josephine refuses to pay Penny any money for her work. Penny leaves to start out on her own and starts to cut into Josephine's con schemes before she can lure the victims.The two try to trap a millionaire at the same time but plot fails miserably. The two then decide to compete to trick a rich technology wizard, Thomas Westerburg (Alex Sharp) out of $500K (which is also Penny's entire net worth). The loser has to leave the country for good.Penny acts as a blind girl (blindness caused due to psychological reasons) who needs 500,000 USD for a corrective surgery that can only be performed by a doctor she made up (Dr Schafhausen). Josephine learns her plot and decides to take the role of Dr Schafhausen who just happens to be visiting the French riviera for a holiday. Thomas begs Josephine to take up Penny's case. Josephine uses every trick in her book to torture Penny in front of Thomas and to get her to give up the act. Schafhausen tells Thomas not to give Penny any money, as that would make her accept that she is truly disabled and then no amount of treatment could help her. Thomas just keeps going along with the flow. Schafhausen tries to shock Penny through various methods (blowing in her face, making her eat toilet dipped food, pretending to hit her with her own walking stick, running into a door, making her run long distances, seducing Thomas in front of Penny) to get her to admit that she can see and is cured.Penny begins to fall for Thomas when she sees that he is a nice guy who wants to create a new application, and both try to get hands on the prize. Thomas tells Penny that he was bought by seed investors for $ 1 MM (for his existing application) and he only has $400 K in the bank and will borrow $ 100 K from his Nana to help Penny. Penny is moved on hearing that Thomas would go broke to help out a stranger.That night Josephine tries to seduce Thomas, but Thomas sends her to a shower and robs her before locking her in his room. Then Thomas gets to Penny, and she gives him USD 500 K as investment in his company. Thomas leaves just before Josephine arrives and reveals that's Thomas was the con.Thomas tricks both women into giving him money for his app, revealing himself to be the grandson of a notorious con artist named Medusa. Thomas meets the ladies again sometime later and proposes that they become a team and together they form a stronger con group.

Storyline

• In this remake of 1988's "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," 2 con-women hustle in a small French Riviera town - one for small amounts from average men, and one for higher amounts wealthier men. They bet on what looks like an easy target. Winner gets $500K from him, and the loser leaves town forever. — Asher Zeiger Josephine is a rich con woman that only takes on the richest men, while Penny is a low-class con woman who hustles men for money in nearby bars. Both take on a tech millionaire, and whoever fails to con money from him before the other loses.