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But above all else, its a painstakingly detailed historical-period drama.
For at least 45 straight minutes, I cringed in horrified recognition.
Tiny vests are worn over ripped T-shirts; feather earrings complement shredded, low-cut jeans.
But the most incredible 2008 simulacrum happens about halfway through the movie.
Love in This Club begins to blare from the speakers.
Dollar bills float through the air.
Lasers shoot from the ceiling.
Confetti pours from the rafters.
The entire club moves in unison, as if under an extremely sensual spell.
Because, as Lizzo puts it, Motherfucking Usher is here.
By bringing the actual Usher into a faithfully recreated version of 2008,Hustlerspulls a fantastic, meta surprise.
Watching it all unfold, the delight comes in waves: Its Usher!
In the year 2008!
At a strip club!
Where he used to go all the time in 2008!
Ramona grins slyly into his face.
Usher flashes those famous snow-white teeth and looks directly into Lopezs eyes.
Ursher, baby, he says.
Again, there arelayersto this shit.
I needed to know: How the hell didHustlerspull this all off?
Back then, she doubted shed ever be able to get Usher.
Then the team cast Lopez, producer Jessica Elbaum explains, and all of their possibilities widened.
It was, at first, assuring him that what the scene represents is a celebration.
The glory days, she says.
But I remember the hardest part was convincing him that his hair was going to be okay.
The solution: put a hat on him.
The day I was sending Usher pictures of himself in hats was a very funny day, says Scafaria.
It was rad, says Scafaria.
As for his iconic line?
The writer-director says it was totally improvised.
I told Usher, If you want to say something, lets talk about it.
I wanted her to ask my name, and Im going to say Usher, baby.
Scafaria was totally delighted.
I was like, Hell yeah!
We had Usher, Lizzo, and Cardi all filming the same day, says producer Jessica Elbaum.
Cameos are challenging schedule-wise, but Ive never done it with three people in one day.
Before Scafaria began shooting, producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas stood up to plead with the background actors.
I said, Guys, listen, were making a movie, she recalls.
Youre a part of our movie, so you cant post anything … nobody can know were here.
I had just been consumed with, Did everybody get off the plane?
Did we have time to fit the costumes?
Oh my God, are we going to be late?
But once Love in This Club began playing on set, she says, everyone was transported.
Ive never had that experience on a set.
I looked at Jessica and I said, Jesus, this is good.
I dont think Ill ever forget that.
The fact that it was really him was remarkable, confirms Scafaria.
The girls were flipping out.
I think he was a crush for everybody at some point in their lives.
Wu confirmed as much: The second he smiles, everybody just melts.
I was like, Dont be too thirsty, just cause Usher just walked in.
Strippers do not give them everything.
You have to be like, He aint shit, because thats what keeps them wanting more.
He was like, Man, the last time I seen you, you was a kid.
I said, Yeah … a lot has changed since then, Palmer says.
It was really funny like, Now Im stripping for you, Usher?
He and I were laughing about that.
They all took such pride in it, and they were our partners.
They knew how hard it was to do it, she says.
Scafaria was moved to tears by the result: It just felt like a Renaissance painting or something.
It was so beautiful.
But its possible that nobody found the whole thing more magical than Usher himself.
I think he had a good time, says Scafaria, laughing.
