Hustle

Thanks a load, Britain—you owed us years of quality entertainment after tossing Eddie Izzard across the pond, and The Hustle makes up for a lot of it. (But don't think you're off the hook for Robbie Williams just yet.) The gang of con artists that comprise the heart of the show are low down, manipulative, and just the kind of scum to envy. Smelling of Ocean's 11 with just a whiff of a Madonna-less Guy Ritchie flick, the four-man crew (and a little lady) are devotees to the long con, a well planned big payoff scam only pros can pull off. Stylized capers fashioned with slick camera work correspond with smart-alecky shyster jargon, which is all smoothed out over a mid-'80s funk soundtrack. These guys are bad, but rooting for them to succeed feels so right. Veteran actor Robert Vaughn (of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. fame) lends credence to a cast that may be known in the Land of Eng, but are relatively unheard of here in the United States of Angelina Jolie. Perhaps that anonymity is what makes for a great thief—speaking of which, is this your wallet?