Hustle

Three years after Ocean's 11 hit theaters Hustle aired on British television. A resurgence in shows about con men seems to have hit Britsh airways following the popularity of the Ocean's movies. Hustle stars Robert Vaughn and cast of British actors who have previously worked in British television and theater. In each episode of Hustle the "family" of con men find a mark to con, seduce him or her into their fake world and then con them out of large amounts of money (think The Sting or any of the Ocean's movies). They never con an innocent or good person. Their targets are the wealthy and the immoral and in doing so feel that they are not theives but rather modern day Robin Hoods.

Each episode is cleverly put together. The formula is always the same but there is still a feeling of adventure and tension as each con is planned and carried out. Occasionally, the show takes a different spin on the formula and starts an episode at the end of the con jumping backwards to the beginning so the audience can see how they got to that point. The effect of this storytelling ploy is much greater than following the con in chronological order. As Hitchcock proved with his bomb under the table scenerio, the tension is greater when an audience already knows about the danger. If the audience sees the bomb under the table, but none of the characters are aware of it there is much more suspence. In some Hustle episodes the tension builds because the audience already knows where the con is heading. The audience sees a moment of danger and then must wait through the entire episode while the suspense gradually increases until the episode nears that moment again. It is this that makes Hustle so entertaining to watch.

While the plot is what drives a con story, it is the relationship between the con men/women that makes these stories so entertaining that people watch them over and over again. When scoring a long con (a con which takes a lot of preparation and has many steps) the people doing the con must act as a family. It is such intense work that they have no time for a life outside of the con world so their life is the con and the people performing the con. In Ocean's 11/12/13 or The Sting the dynamics between all the men preparing the con is perfectly played by the actors. The real life friendship between Paul Newman and Robert Redford that audiences saw on screen in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was the perfect relationship to exhibit in a con movie like The Sting. Sarcastic and witty, these two actors played off each other so well that their relationship dominates over the basic plot of the movie. Similarily, in Ocean 11 the relationship between Brad Pitt and George Clooney (and evenutally Matt Damon in the later movies) is the focus of the film. The plot does drive the first Ocean movie, but it is the relationship between Pitt and Clooney that makes the movie bringing people back for more in the future installments.
This comradery between con men isn't as strong in Hustle. The five member team says that they're a family but fall short in showing the audience that they really are that close. The episodes focus so much time on the con that the relationships between the con men and their lives are missing. Instead of seeing their relationships play out and seeing their struggles in dealing with the life of a con we are told about it. In a show like Mad Men or Sopranoes we aren't told how to feel about a character; instead we watch as their character's relationships develop and observe as they make decisions which then affect and change each character's lives. The plot is enriched by the characters because as an audience we have more of a connection through our interpretations of those characters. In Hustle so little time is spent on characterization that we have to be told how to feel about each person and in return the show doesn't grow and develop as greatly as other shows on tv right now.

What this means for me and my desire to keep watching the show is that while I had fun seeing the first season, I lost interest by the second. Hustle is still airing on British tv so there are people who feel connected to it and still enjoy watching it; but for me I must agree with Debbie Reynold's in Singing in the Rain, "Once you've seen one, you've seen them all."