Hustle and Flow

Hustle & Flow is a tightly woven tale of a broken down Memphis pimp, DJay, played by Terrence Dashon Howard. (Who can also be seen in Four Brothers, also in theaters) He gives a stirring Oscar worthy performance of a man caught in the midst of a mid-life crisis, waking up to the reality that he despises what he does, and the dreams he long ago suppressed will no longer be denied. Terrence does the unimaginable, he makes us believe he has the cold heart of a pimp, and still makes the character sympathetic and likable. He is merely a man who feels disenfranchised with something to say, and he wants to lay it down in rap.

Kudos to writer, director Craig Brewer, for an insanely real script, that keeps it dark and gritty, but still keeps us engrossed.

With barely enough money from his 3 prostitutes, (one is pregnant with his child and unable to work) he decides to invest in his future, so he pulls all his resources together to make a demo, laying down tracks in his makeshift studio in the basement of his dilapidated house. With the help of Key, (Anthony Anderson) a wanna be producer, and Shelby (DJ Quals), a skinny white boy who plays keyboard at Key’s church, he puts together a dynamite demo. He uses one of his girls, Shug (Taraji Henson) to do background vocals. Taraji Henson is nothing less than spectacular as the shy, vulnerable, nervous and self-effacing Shug. She delivers some of the most believable moments of acting I have ever seen on the screen. Nola ( Tarn Manning) his only white prostitues, who displays no real talent, and feels left out of the process, in the end becomes the one in charge who makes DJay’s dream a reality. Telling you how would spoil the ending.

Watching them all come together, investing in DJay’s dream as well as their own, provides somewhat a lift to your soul, even in this dark movie. Rapper, Ludacris, gives a meaningful performance, as Skinny Black, a rapper who grew up, and found fame in Memphis, but whose ego has caused him to forget from whence he came. His character is symbolic of all the rappers, singers, actors, who found fame in their hometown, then forget all about their roots once the rest of the world discovered them. It is through him that Djay gains notoriety, but not in the way you might think. I won’t spoil that either.

This is ensemble acting at it’s best. There is not one weak link in this chain. Hustle & Flow is not so much one man’s story, as it is most people’s story. It’s about having a dream, and the tenacity you must have to make it come true or fail trying. It’s about feeling the fire inside and learning to tame it or eventually let it consume you.

Hustle & Flow is not just entertaining and enlightening, it makes you think. ’’Everybody got a dream’’, a line uttered several times throughout this film, seems trite and cliche at first. However by movies end you’ll find yourself asking whatever happened to that dream I once had? This introspection alone is worth the price of a ticket. Hustle & Flow has Oscar nomination written all over it, and deservedly so.

Hustle & Flow Cast and Crew:

Terrence Howard - (Djay)

Ludacris - (Skinny Black)