How do you go from living in your sister’s garage to a swanky sea-facing mansion in Florida? Well, becoming a successful sales representative for a pharmaceutical start-up is one way to get rich, at least for single-mom Liza Drake in the 2023 movie “Pain Hustlers.”
Based on a novel by Evan Hughes, this David Yates directorial stars Emily Blunt as protagonist Liza, who gets caught up in a federal criminal conspiracy case involving the pharmaceutical company she works for. Chris Evans plays Pete Brenner, who meets Liza at a bar and is impressed by her smooth-talking. He offers her a job at Zanna Therapeutics, a firm on the verge of bankruptcy due to zero takers for their painkiller pill called Lonafen. Broke and desperate for money to support her school-going daughter Phoebe (Chloe Coleman), Liza joins Zanna and turns the company’s fortunes. But nothing good lasts too long.
“Pain Hustlers” opens with documentary style shots, where those involved in the Zanna Therapeutics scandal are being interviewed for the story, so the primary players are quickly introduced. Chris Evans gets the opening dialogues as Pete Brenner, former CEO of Zanna, who immediately strikes you as a cocky, crooked guy who got caught with his hand dirty and yet wants you to believe he is clean. It’s a delight to see Chris picking and portraying diverse characters that are a far cry from his “Captain America” roles. After portraying Kitty Oppenheimer in the 2023 biopic “Oppenheimer,” where she stood out despite her brief supporting role, Emily Blunt deservedly takes center stage in “Pain Hustlers” as Liza Drake.
The ‘American Dream,’ personal greed, and corruption are major themes of “Pain Hustlers,” taking the adage “no pain, no gain” quite literally, with Liza Drake symbolizing the quintessential ‘rags to riches’ story that most average people aspire to. The first half of the film is entertainingly gripping, with a steady pace, transforming Liza from a poor unemployed mother forced to live in a cheap motel, to a marketing star at a pharma firm. The relationships between pharmaceutical representatives and doctors are depicted in the most amusing ways. Zanna employees use the oldest tricks in the sales book to lure doctors – sex, and in this film, both men and women are used as sexual tools to win over their targets. “Greasing doctors is an art, not a science. The real education at our events was us learning the doctors were just as greedy and horny as everyone else,” Liza says while recalling their rise to the top. Brian d’Arcy James portrays Dr. Lydell, the first doctor Liza persuades to prescribe Lonafen, and he plays a crucial role throughout the runtime in facilitating Lonafen’s ascent in the medical market.
Andy Garcia portrays Dr. Neel, the eccentric and affluent owner of Zanna, who may remind some Indian viewers of Vijay Mallya, an Indian fugitive wanted for financial fraud. In fact, the real-life figure Dr. Neel is based on is an Indian-origin man named John Kapoor, who later became an American citizen and was convicted for a multitude of frauds. Catherine O’Hara delivers an entertaining performance as Liza’s mother, Jackie, a free-spirited woman who often finds herself causing trouble for her children. The portrayal of both mother-daughter relationships was quite amusing, while Liza is protective of her daughter Phoebe, and the two share a sweet-friendly relationship, Liza also ends up looking out for her own mom Jackie.
“Pain Hustlers” begins to lose steam in the second half, and perhaps part of the reason is the fact that the writers attempt to redeem Liza’s character and portray her as some sort of a sacrificial ‘hero’. While the opening of the movie convinces viewers that Liza is the anti-hero, a ruthless character willing to do anything for money, the climax didn’t align well with the expectations the first half sets up for Liza’s growth, or well, downfall.
Overall, this film is definitely worth a one-time watch. It has many clever moments, the background music is carefully selected, and the cast does a fab job of keeping you entertained.
Rating: 7.5 on 10.
You can stream “Pain Hustlers” on Netflix.
Also Read: The Fall of the House of Usher Review (Audio version below)
