The Hustle

I suppose I don't know much about con artistry, but I've never considered it to be anything less than shady, a disreputable means to earn a living, for as long as you can avoid suspicion.

Whenever it shows up in the news, I don't exactly recall the Vampire Lestat, certainly not ye olde Robin Hood, nor anything remotely spry and charitable.

But perhaps a code does exist between some of its practitioners, complete with its own particular form of tithing, and it's possible that it's only upheld by the most ingenious amongst them, which explains why it's never been deciphered.

Inveterate concealment.

Undetected dividends.

Don't mistake this for a conspiracy theory, it's just lighthearted speculation, it's incredible what people are willing to believe these days, and how they could possibly believe it having graduated high school.

The creative mind speculates, postures, theorizes, contemplates.

But the logical mind applies rationality.

Considers the truth value of a proposition.

And doesn't drink bleach or think minorities are taking over.

A code of sorts exists in this film inasmuch as Penny (Rebel Wilson) and Josephine (Anne Hathaway) are depicted cheating scoundrels.

Not all of the time by any means, but when confronted with what they think is genuine honesty, they still demonstrate concerned sympathy.

Penny is hands-on, rough and tumble, down and dirty, scandalous.

Her scams are light yet lucrative and she enjoys her free time indisputably.

Josephine's more sophisticated, but no stranger to feigned affection, aware of the benefits of the single life, with little patience for soundproof tomfoolery.

She tries to get rid of Penny after she shows up on her Beaumont-sur-Mer turf, which naturally encourages her to stay, which calls for a chaotic plan B.

They wind up in a duel of sorts, the first to con their agreed upon mark out of $500,000 the winner.

But the mark can't help it if he's downright adorable.

Generating the sweetest of codes.

It's daring and brash and raunchy and elegant, a verifiably bold juxtaposition radiating sincere gnarly charm.

I never did see Bedtime Story, but I did see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels several times.

But that's beside the point, The Hustle making inroads of its own, even if the next incarnation may diversify itself even further, if it takes the O Brother, Where Art Thou? approach.

Not bad.