Hustle & Flow

...and I enjoyed it. What saves the film from being just another badly made 'hood flick, is Terrence Howard. I am so glad Craig cast an actor and not a rapper to play the lead. Terrence brings depth of character, pathos, and sympathy to a low brow pimp with low quality product to hustle.

This movie could've turned out bad with clichéd acting and over the top performances (there were moments where I felt his strip club whore was too much), but what makes you stick with the story, is that you really feel sorry for these people and you want them to succeed. The producer Stephanie Allain was at the L.A. premiere, and said that the character wanting to have a dream of better things was the universal theme that struck her. Craig (the director) also said that the story used bits and pieces of his own life and people he has met in Memphis to craft a story that really does happen to a lot of black people trying to get into the rap game. True, the hook of the story, a pimp wanting to be a rapper, sounds really funny. Lord knows if Mike Epps or Brian Hooks (or God forbid, Snoop) had been cast in the lead, this movie would've turned booty real quick. But once again, Terrence Howard makes this story come alive. I enjoy rap, but don't find crunk and a lot of lyrics enjoyable, but I must admit, in the context of the world it comes from and the hopes that these characters have, I was one of many people (the black ones in particular) who found myself swaying and singing the lyrics to "Whoop that Trick" et al.

As for the person on this board who commented that he too was at the Los Angeles Film Festival and found the white characters "acting black" tiresome, it must be said that in the south, black speech patterns and culture get picked up by whites. Living in close proximity creates that, and I didn't feel that the white characters were playing black. There was one comment in the movie where DJ Qualls arrives and Terrenc Howards character pulls Anthony Anderson aside and and questions the white boy's skills as a beat junkie, but that was the only time his color was brought up. But it was natural, no different than guys from Metallica questioning the skills of a black dude auditioning for a guitar gig. The subtext was simply "Does this dude even listen to crunk music?" Once his skills are proved, there is no question of race anymore.

The film should do well. I will see it again with my mother. Yes my mother. She loves Terrence Howard as much as I do, and I feel the movie should have a wide audience, young and old (with parental supervision). I enjoy watching Terrence Howard work, he makes you feel everything he feels on screen, and if this thing doesn't make him blow up, I don't know what will. He is the movie. See it for yourself and decide for yourself. Cuz it's hard out here for a pimp, ya'all.

Ps. For those feminists who get their panties all twisted because of any images of female exploitation, I must comment that all the women in this film (as broke down and trashy as they are) have dreams too, and Terrence's character realizes that they deserve better and strives to help them by helping himself. There is no such thing as a good pimp (like there is no such thing as a good slave master) but what redeems Terrence is that his pimp transforms his life and all those around him for the better.

Movies and music, that's the winning combo when it comes to industry amalgams but haven't we seen it all? We have the good; The Bodyguard and 8 Mile, the bad Honey and the downright ugly aka Glitter (put the crossbow down, I had to mention it). However, this John Singleton produced flick snipes at the genre from a different angle.

The increasingly talented Terence Howard (recently seen in Ray and Crash), plays DJay, a pimp turned rapper who wants to prove his worth and swap his tricks for a trade in America's crunked up south.

Newcomer Craig Brewer takes the helm as we visit Memphis and see it through the eyes of the down but not outters consisting of DJay and his working girls. When he reunites with school friend Key (Anthony Anderson) they decide to take charge of their lives and realise their dream by putting together a demo tape of their skills, with the hope of hitting the big time.

This is not a bad movie, in fact Howard is equally as convincing as a pimp with a newly found heart and as a rapper, something that was both a bold and a fruitful choice. If the star hadn't convinced on any level it is a sure-fire guess to say a non-rapper would never be allowed to rap in a movie, but he did and he did it well.

The standard underdog making it to the big time route has been bypassed and replaced with a story that hold's your attention and has an unpredictable and real conclusion.

Amongst Flow's supporting cast, Isaac Hayes takes stage as the bar-owner who puts DJay in touch with the hometown's former star- Skinny Black, played sneeringly by Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges. As well as these two familiar songsters, Anthony Anderson and DJ Qualls, of Road Trip fame, make up the group and put in solid performances. The female cast who constitute DJay's trade are Eminem's ex-girlfriend in 8 Mile, Taryn Manning and Paula Jai Parker as the outspoken Lexus, again all providing non-sterling but convincing turns as part of the phat pack.

But it is Taraji P. Henson's part as the heavily pregnant Nola who catches the eye as a sweet and naïve part of the outfit. It is her who seems to be the only person that allows DJay to relinquish his sometimes brutal pimp suit and put on something more responsible and caring as he ventures out hustling for his right to fame.

This is not your standard cheer at the screen rise-to-fame story that Americans seem to love, too much. What it is, is a well thought out project that takes you on a journey of trials and tribulations that are the all more convincing when performances by Howard, Manning and Henson garnish the story.

I recently had the pleasure of viewing a local Hustle & Flow screening. I referred to this site beforehand to look at the technical details of the movie and to gain a general understanding of the buzz from the message boards. All I seem to recall reading were negative comments about the movie saying that it was such a cliché. Well, maybe I haven't seen as many movies in the hip hop coming of age genre, but the only movie I recall being remotely close to this one was 8 Mile (which I liked btw). Anyways, I saw the movie and I really don't think it was that cliché. The dialog is definitely original, the characters are original, the location is original, and there is a lot of depth within the character of DJay, the pimp trying to become a rapper. I thought the acting in the movie was excellent and I am glad that there is a wide release movie out this summer that isn't a sequel and didn't cost $200 million to make. This movie is bound to do very well, it only cost $3 million to make and it is a pretty good movie. The only problems I had with this movie were with some of the logic and character motivation. I don't think the movie explained very well WHY DJay (the pimp) wanted to become a rapper all of a sudden. They make the entire music making process seem like a piece of cake, but hey it is a movie and there are ultimately time constraints. I thought DJ Qualls was gonna be just a really lame piece of comic relief, but he actually adds depth to the film. I found Hustle & Flow to be very enjoyable and much more memorable than Batman Begins (which I saw last night!). This movie is definitely worth seeing this summer.

A very good film. I have noted criticism that the film slips into formula in its second half; true. But the situation is so bleak for these characters, I doubt that American audiences would have accepted a more believable ending; and, after all, there were far worse "happy" endings that it avoids.

The gritty staging, the solid no-frills camera-work and editing, and some really excellent performances make this well worth the effort to confront dishonest characters struggling to find some sort of integrity in their efforts to survive and succeed. These characters are not likable - none of them are, they each have a tic that denies them total sympathy from the audience. But they are all very human for that, and so ultimately win our respect if not approval.

Among the actors, two performances especially shine. Terrence Howard as DJay shows timing and expression worthy of much older, more "schooled" actors. Anthony Anderson is a real and pleasant surprise; stuck in character roles for the past decade, Anderson has become a real annoyance to me, as the usual character he plays is really excessive, a caricature. In this role, he is allowed to just act, and he delivers a wholly believable multifaceted performance.

Hollywood has been producing such bad films that saying this film is among the best released this year may not be saying much (there are real and undeniable weaknesses to the film). Nonetheless, on the whole, the film is a commendable and rewarding effort to present a drama involving human beings living close to real life, and not cartoons. I credit that effort, and recommend a viewing.

(Synopsis) DJay (Terrence Howard) is a streetwise hustler and Memphis pimp with a stable of 3 girls, Shug (Taraji Henson) who is pregnant and not working, Lexus (Paula Jai Parker) who works in a strip club, and Nola (Taryn Manning) who works out of DJay's old beat-up car in a back alley. Even with two girls working and DJay selling dirt-weed on the side, it is hard for them to make ends meet. The utility company is about to shut off their utilities, if they don't pay the bill. DJay feels that he has hit rock bottom, and he needs a change in his life. A bum trades him a Casio keyboard for some weed, and DJay takes it home. While playing the keys, DJay gets an inspiration to write rap music. He begins to write down his pimping style raps, his flow, in a little notebook while Nola is turning tricks. DJay runs into Key (Anthony Anderson), an old friend and sound engineer, who takes him to a church choir performance that reaches DJay's soul. DJay looks inside his soul and decides to get out of the business, and now he has a dream of becoming a rapper. DJay teams up with Key to make a demo song. Skinny Black (Ludacris) is a platinum selling rapper about to return to Memphis for the 4th of July. DJay believes he can hustle Skinny to hear his tape, and his dream will come true.

(Comment) The movie was filmed all around Memphis during 2004. Memphian Craig Brewer wrote and directed 'Hustle and Flow,' and I went to the red carpet movie premiere in Memphis on 6 July. Craig Brewer told the audience about his father's watch that was used in the movie, and he was wearing it for good luck that night. He was also wearing a 3-carat diamond ring that belonged to Sam Phillips. As for the movie, Terrence Howard's role as DJay is a remarkable one in that he becomes immersed in the character of DJay. Howard comes off as a real pimp with all the anger, conflicts, and frustrations, which he encounters in life. There is no such thing as a good pimp, but the character of DJay realizes that his women have dreams too, and that he wants to change everything around him and them for the better. The subject matter and the lyrics to the rap music are a little rough, but the movie is a good one to see. (Paramount Classics, Run time 1:54, Rated R) (8/10)