What are friends for? Whether they be best buddies, or in the case of Hustlers co-stars Constance Wu and Cardi B, valued co-workers, there’s always something that they can do to make life just a little easier. In the scenario we’re about to lay down, that “something” is tips on how to give a good lap dance.
Who says you can’t learn something new and exciting in Hollywood? In a recent interview, the Crazy Rich Asians star told a short, but incredibly funny story about how her fellow Hustlers star decided to show her the ropes:
[We filmed] a scene where she’s teaching me how to give a lap dance. She’s like, ‘Show me what you’ve got!’ So I try. She’s like, ‘Honey, no! This is terrible!’
As a former stripper herself, Cardi B is the expert tier teacher/ringer that the cast of Hustlers definitely needs, as it’s primed to tell the true story about how a group of women fleeced men in positions of high finance. Naturally, everyone from musical sensation Lizzo to Riverdale’s Lili Reinhart needs to look like they can act the part, so everyone needed some professional lessons, as well as the potential for some pointers from their recording artist colleague.
Constance Wu’s on-set lessons weren’t the extent of her education in stripping, as she also told EW that in addition to Cardi B’s informal tutelage, there were also pole-dancing classes that were given on the weekends. So her prep for the showstopping dances featured in Hustlers also included a classroom curriculum that saw her building her skills outside of when the cameras were rolling.
As if that wasn’t enough of a variety of professional stripping teachers, Jennifer Lopez’s role as the experienced veteran of the stripping scene, Ramona, required she take what could be considered A.P. classes in stripping and movement. This meant that J. Lo had to work with Johanna Sapakie, a choreographer and Cirque Du Soleil aerialist, which puts to rest any and all claims casual moviegoers may have about how much effort she, Constance Wu, and Cardi B put into their on screen professions. If that doesn’t do it, then perhaps the insanely perfect shape Lopez has gotten into for Hustlers will silence all remaining critics. Abs like that hold up in court, folks.
Hustlers is one of the first big movies to head our way in the fall movie season, with writer/director Lorene Scafaria primed to return to the big screen with a story so outrageous, it just has to be true. Which only recalls a key rule of storytelling: the more convincing everything else is, the more likely your audience will be to buy the really outrageous stuff.
So thank you, Cardi B, on behalf of moviegoers everywhere who are ready to see Hustlers grab all the loot it can walk away with on September 13th. But don’t forget any of the other box office excitement that’s set to debut between now and then, especially when our 2019 release schedule is the perfect reminder of just what’s on the way.
