I realize we’re already half way through the week, but that doesn’t discredit the movies I did see this weekend! Neither were knockouts, but they were both memorable in very different ways.
First on the docket was Brittany Runs a Marathon, starring funny girl, Jillian Bell. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect with this one other than the fact that she probably runs a marathon. Brittany is a party girl, and a really unhealthy one at that. After a visit to the doctor, he informs her that she needs to lose some weight if she wants a long life. After some slow starts, she picks up running with a few people. In the process, she starts to become a little nicer, and have a more positive outlook on life, and she makes friends! There were certainly some self-sabotaging setbacks, but ultimately, Brittany comes out on top. This movie is a bit of a motivator for me to get back in shape!
Next up was the over-advertised, Hustlers, but for good reason! It may have been a movie about strippers, but it was really good! It gave me Molly’s Game vibes, only with women who take their clothes off and drug people to make money. The story is Destiny’s (Constance Wu’s) to tell to a journalist (played by Julia Stiles). In a series of flashbacks we see that Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) is the mastermind behind most of the shenanigans throughout the film, but despite her shady moves you can really see that she cares about all of the women she’s taken under her wing. Or maybe she doesn’t. I couldn’t quite tell if she was a pathological liar or not. Either way, what these women did is quite unbelievable, but is apparently based on real life events. I’m baffled.
In terms of entertainment value, you can’t really go wrong with either of these installments. Both are pretty satisfying in their own ways. So make your way to the theater!