<em>Pain Hustlers</em> Is a Goofy Celebration of Greed
The film turns the opioid crisis into a scammer story, not a criminal one.
The opioid crisis is the deadliest drug epidemic in American history—and, of late, irresistible source material for Hollywood. TV shows such as Hulu’s and Netflix’s explored the rise of Purdue Pharma, the company behind Oxycontin, and its many victims. Crime dramas such as Starz’s and HBO’s , and films such as 2021’s and 2018’s , wove addiction into their storytelling. Opioids have even played a key role in comedies; AMC’s sitcom send-up , for instance, included a plot
