Formulaic but completely entertaining

Rating: Null/10 (5 February 2005)

It's hard out there for a pimp, y'all. Hustlin' up tricks in the Memphis heat is no picnic, and then you always have to worry about ho's getting pregnant, getting an attitude, or holding out on you. On top of all that there's the crushing overhead. For Djay (Terrence Howard), a low-rent Memphis pimp with a stable of 3 girls, one of whom is pregnant, the pleasures of being a small-businessman have run thin. A run-in with an old friend from his junior-high rapping days gets him thinking about music as a way to improve his situation. Before long, Key (Anthony Anderson) and the obligatory white boy (DJ Qualls, the skinny guy from "Road Trip") are laying down crunky rhythms while Djay flows (raps) on life as a Memphis pimp.
When you break it down, "Hustle & Flow" is a formulaic Cinderella story that doesn't really show us anything we haven't seen before. We saw most of it back in 2002 when it was called "8 Mile." What sets this film apart and makes it rock are the actors and the music. Naturalistic performances by Terrance Howard and Taraji Henson (as the pregnant one) lend a surprising emotional depth. Howard, in particular, dominates the screen in this potentially star-making performance. DJ Qualls and his Adam's apple are there primarily as comic relief, but he does give a heartfelt monologue about bringing rap back to the South. As it happens, southern rap is on the upswing, popularized by the style known as "crunk." "Hustle & Flow" will likely feed off of and feed into the southern rap phenomenon. The film sold for about 9 million bucks, the biggest deal ever at the Sundance Film Festival. For that money, there's a good chance it will show up at a cinema near you. If you like rap music at all, then I think you will find "Hustle & Flow" to be thoroughly entertaining, and I guarantee you'll be singing the songs afterwards. 4 out of 5 stars.