Mirza Ghalib 

World-famous drag queen Trixie Mattel shares a year of her life with the world in this vulnerable and uplifting documentary.

Hustlers was meant to be a film about female empowerment. And it was, to a certain extent. I expected and wanted this to be a kickass and complex film of sexy women who use their confidence, skills, and wits towards a brilliant plan to get revenge on the Wall Street guys who wronged them.

The problem isn’t that it’s bad. It's good. But it fails to stand out from a crowd of similar films.

Intergenerational friendships and community can be so powerful, and this was a great example.

Not a lot of people realize that being introverted is not always a permanent state of mind. Being considered an introvert by others is a complicated thing; not everyone likes being labelled “shy.”

The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.