Thank God Jennifer Lopez is Finally Getting the Oscar Buzz She Deserves with ‘Hustlers’

There are many reasons to get excited about Hustlers, the hot new crime drama debuting in theaters this weekend. There’s the fact that it comes from the brilliant mind of writer/director Lorene Scafaria, whose touch you might recognize from films like Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. There’s the fact that the cast is jam-packed with a diverse group of awesome, talented, and straight-up baller women: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo, and Cardi B. There’s the fact that plot—which is based on a true story—is about rich Wall Street jerks getting screwed over by strippers, which feels like the kind of catharsis we need right now. But most of all, there’s the fact that Hustlers is finally, finally a critically-acclaimed, big-guns film that’s getting Oscar buzz for Jennifer Lopez.

To be clear, Jennifer Lopez doesn’t need Hustlers to prove she’s an Oscar-worthy actor. She’s done that many times over with  Maid in Manhattan, Out of Sight, and Selena. She’s been a bonafide movie star for over two decades—and yet, somehow, she’s never gotten the critical acclaim or awards love that she deserves. 

Much of this has to do with the fact that the people in charge of doling out badges of prestige tend to be of the older, whiter, and male-r type. I’ll go to bat for Maid in Manhattan any day; it’s an endlessly charming, exceptionally-crafted Prince and the Pauper-esque romantic comedy that was written off as a banal “chick flick” by critics when it came out in 2002. (The film currently holds a 39 percent on I’d like to think critics these days would give Maid in Manhattan a fair shot, now that it’s generally frowned upon to dismiss movies for attempting to appeal to over half of the population. Hopefully, Lopez would get the credit she deserves for making her character—a hotel maid named Maria who falls in love with a big-deal politician (Ralph Fiennes)—so engaging, wholehearted, and appealing. 

And yet, though it was a groundbreaking lead romantic role for a Latina actor that flipped the script on the stereotypical maid role, there’s still no way—even today—that frothy romance like that would ever garner Oscar talk. Lopez might have had a shot at that with Selena, the 1997 biopic in which she starred as the famed singer who was murdered, or with Out of Sight, the Steven Soderbergh crime comedy with George Clooney a year later, both of which were received positively by critics. But for some reason, Selena didn’t capture the attention of Acadamy voters that year—everyone was too caught up in Titanic fever, perhaps—and film came and went with a lone Golden Globe nod for Lopez. Out of Sight, meanwhile, got a little more attention—a Best Adapted Screenplay and a Best Editing Oscar nomination—but the narrative surrounding the film was focused on then-rising stars Clooney and Soderbergh, not Lopez.

Hustlers, on the other hand, is all about Lopez. As Ramona Vega, she’s the leader of the team, the veteran stripper, the tough-love maternal figure who takes Wu’s character under her wing and introduces her to a new way of living. And not only is Hustlers Lopez’s movie, it’s also a big deal movie. With praise for Lopez’s performance pouring in, the Best Actress Oscar buzz is brewing.  Jen Yamato at the Los Angeles Times said it. Peter Travers at Rolling Stone said it. Kyle Buchanan at The New York Times said it. And now Anna Menta at Decider is saying it: This is it, you guys, I can feel it. This is the role the finally gets J-Lo her Oscar nomination. Or, at the very least, it’s the role that wakes the world up to her caliber. Finally.

Where to stream Maid in Manhattan

Where to stream Out of Sight

Where to stream Selena