TV Review – Hustle (BBC One)
Series 5 of the Beeb’s almost Ocean’s Eleven Comedy-Drama
For those not in the know Hustle follows the day to day lives of a bunch of London con men (and a few woman) and American Robert Vaughn, who after all these years still looks confused as to why he’s doing this show. But instead of seedy blokes flogging dodgy tracksuits off the back of a lorry they focus on long cons, meaning more time for more money but more danger.
New Series, New Hustle Team
After a shake up of the original cast the “team” for this first episode was charming thief Mickey (Adrian Lester) and handyman Ash (Robert Glenister), with the mission being an attempt to rip off a ruthless investor who has very little regard for anyone else, making her the perfect clichéd Hustle mark.
The problem is despite the usual Hustle set-up it just wasn’t as fun as it could have been, even after a well constructed opener. In the first two minutes Mickey managed to evade capture, pretend to be a naval commander, steal the wallet and car of an obnoxious city banker and gain a room at an expensive hotel.
Then it went downhill from there. Even the twist when the marks were revealed to be grifters themselves was blindingly obvious and whole story was unsatisfying. This episode really tried hard in the last few minutes to piece together some type of resolution and to show it was up to date by crow barring in references to the recession and Heathrow’s disastrous Terminal 5.
Marc Warren’s Cocky Swagger is a Glaring Omission
But with less people and flashy set pieces to point the camera at Hustle’s ropey dialogue really sticks out, even though there is the infrequent funny line. And even though there’s a new group put together, after one episode Marc Warren’s cocky swagger is one glaring omission.
As long as the writers remember that when Hustle works it’s because you want the gang to win because the target is so unlikeable and the method behind the con is actually quite interesting.
It doesn’t work when it’s about a group of smarmy people who, despite all the odds, always come out on top. Not even the most indestructible hero is infallible and wins every time, you need to see your protagonists fail from time to time so that the audience starts to connect with them and creates some sort of emotional involvement. Yes the Hustle crew have fallen down more than once but it never seems to affect them and next week they’re back on the game.
Less Ocean’s Eleven and more Ocean’s Finance
The trouble with Hustle is that tries to be as cool as Ocean’s Eleven but more often comes across as naff as an Ocean’s Finance advert. The acting is borderline cheesy at times and the occasional knowing winks to the camera are wince inducing, you just feel like reaching through the screen and punching them in the face every time they do it and shouting “Just stop it!”
It’s hardly the most realistic thing on TV but because of Hustle you get The Real Hustle, where three ex-cons get a pay day by showing a BBC audience how to spot real scams out on the street. Even though it is realistic most people watching The Real Hustle think “well I’m not stupid enough to fall for that” and the others are making notes about how to con people properly the next time they are on the streets.
Either way it looks like George Clooney’s lot can sleep soundly in their beds at night knowing that Hustle will never be as cool as their films and that they won’t have to regroup for another mess like Ocean’s Twelve. Hopefully the latter is more likely to be true.
Hustle is shown on BBC One every Thursday at 9pm until mid-February.
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