Breakout role for Howard

Rating: 7/10 (4 August 2005)

Often an actor will kick around Hollywood without getting the awards or accolades and be one of those recognizable faces that pop up in films (Robert Duvall, Paul Giamatti) but every once in a while things can change in just one year with just the right role and performance that opens everyone's eyes. Story is about DJay (Terrence Howard) who's a smalltime Memphis dealer and pimp but hates what he's doing and dreams of doing something else in life and one day gets the idea of becoming a rap artist. Djay runs into an old friend named Key (Anthony Anderson) and learns that he's a sound engineer which gives him the idea of asking for his help to make a demo tape so that he can give a copy to a rapper named Skinny Black (Ludacris) whom DJay knew years earlier.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Nola (Taryn Manning) is DJay's cash cow but she also hates what she's doing but he still needs her to use her services in order to make money to finance the recording of his tape. While DJay writes the lyrics for his songs Key has his friend Shelby (DJ Qualls) help mix the music and they also enlist the help of DJay's pregnant girlfriend Shug (Taraji P. Henson) who is used for backup vocalization. Once the demo tape is finished DJay heads to a local bar (run by Isaac Hayes) where Skinny Black is having a party but after handing him his tape things go horribly wrong and DJay ends up in the custody of the police.
This is only the second feature for writer/director Craig Brewer and immediately his script sucks the audience in with the very first shot of DJay talking to Nola about his thoughts of not only about being a man but one's opportunities in life. Howard's performance is revolutionary and with his James Brown-like hair his character DJay is shown as a man who clearly knows that he can't be a pimp forever and Howard perfectly channels this man's desperation and focus in trying to change his life. Howard has been a respected character actor for over 10 years and his face had become pretty familiar for audiences but this is the year that should not only change his career but also the way others will look at him in terms of his talent. Earlier this year Howard gave another solid performance in "Crash" and 2005 seems to be his breakout year and will hopefully lead him to being a leading man in other interesting films because he's one of those actor's that has paid his dues to get to this spot. This film also boasts some good supporting roles with Manning and Henson standing out as the women in DJay's life and it's time for some filmmaker to give Manning a bigger and well written part. I found her character a tad under written but she does have one strong scene where she admits how much she hates prostituting herself and one can't help but think her character deserved more to do. While I can't say that this film is truly realistic (although it's more relevant than the Eminem myth "8 Mile") it still captures the look of the seedy side of Memphis perfectly and shows DJay for all of his flaws like taking his whores money and throwing out one of his girlfriends (with his own child!) into the street. This is one of those low budget films that not only gives a young director the opportunity to show he's a filmmaker to watch but it also gives an actor like Howard (who for years has been under-appreciated) the role of a lifetime and show that he's ready to establish himself.