Hustle & Flow

Plot synopsis:
DJay (Terrence Howard) is a pimp and drug dealer who is dissatisfied with his life. After acquiring a keyboard and reacquainting himself with an old friend from school, Key (Anthony Anderson), who has become a sound technician, DJay decides to try his hand at making hip hop songs.
Key and his sound-mixer friend Shelby (DJ Qualls) help DJay put together several "flow" songs in which he expresses the frustrations of a small-time hustler struggling to survive. DJay quickly proves to have a real talent for lyrics, and his first fixed-length song, done at the urging of his friends, appears to have a decent chance of becoming a hit and getting local radio play.
The group experiences many setbacks throughout the creative process. DJay must hustle those around him in order to procure proper equipment and recording time, and Key's relationship with his wife becomes strained. DJay throws out one of his prostitutes, Lexus, along with her one-year-old son Roger, for ridiculing his art. DJay's pregnant prostitute, Shug (Taraji P. Henson), joins in the creative process, singing hooks, and the group eventually records several fixed-length tracks, including "Whoop That Trick" and their primary single "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp". After their first recording, DJay falls in love with Shug.
DJay's friend, Arnel (Isaac Hayes), informs him that Skinny Black (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), a successful Memphis rapper, will be returning to the neighborhood for a Fourth of July party. DJay gains admittance to the party under the pretext of providing marijuana, with the intention of giving Skinny Black his demo tape. Black is dismissive at first, but after a long night of reminiscing DJay successfully persuades him into taking the tape.
Before leaving the party, however, DJay discovers that the drunken Black has destroyed his tape, leaving it in the toilet. When DJay confronts Skinny Black, Black laughs at the idea of touring with DJay and insults him. In a fit of rage, DJay beats and pistol whips Black with his own gun. Realizing what he has done, DJay attempts to resuscitate the unconscious Black, until a member of Black's crew enters the bathroom and quickly pulls out his gun. DJay shoots the man in his arm, then uses him as a human shield to make his escape.
DJay arrives home to find the police and Black's associates waiting for him. DJay turns himself in and tells Nola (Taryn Manning) to keep his writing pad, with his rap lyrics. He tells her she is "in charge" of getting his songs on local radio stations, and exchanges a glance with a tearful Shug. DJay is charged for assault and possession of a firearm and is sentenced to 11 months in prison.
While serving his time, DJay gets a visit from Key. When Key asks DJay if he really knew Skinny Black, DJay reveals that he made it up in order to keep the group's dream alive. DJay learns from Key that Nola has hustled the local radio DJs into playing his songs, which have become local hits. Key says he and Nola want to discuss his future plans. The film ends as we see a friendly duo of prison guards who have their own rap group asking DJay to listen to their demo, much as DJay had approached Skinny Black. Humbled and flattered, DJay accepts their tape and responds with: "You know what they say, everybody gotta have a dream".

Tags: tragedy, violence, murder, romantic

Review:
When he comes into the possession of an electronic keyboard, DJay plays around with it and finds he has a talent for writing and performing hard, violent lyrics.On its face, this seems like a typical "man rises from the ashes of his hardscrabble life to experience success and then watches it all crash down around him" kind of movie.
When he obtains the keyboard, inspiration strikes, and a chance encounter with an old classmate (Anthony Anderson) who's now a producer (of sorts) gives DJay the opportunity to jump out of the rotten life he's carved for himself.This never feels like a typical rise-and-fall story, and that's thanks in no small part to the powerful performance by Howard, who's much better here than in the critically lauded (by some) Crash.
Appearing with Howard in Crash was Ludicrous, who also has a big role in Hustle and Flow - hey, some rappers are very good actors, it turns out.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
(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.
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.
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.
You could say he's the next "it" black actor, but really black,white,yellow,magenta whatever this guy drops it like its hot here, this performance will make you keep an eye out for his next movie on the IMDb. As for the story, well its about a hard livin pimp from Memphis wanting to accomplish a dream of becoming a rapper and getting his songs heard.
However I will also throw this out there, my 50 year old mother who thinks rap music is foul and has zero interest in gritty subject matter (ie, Pimpin) saw this movie at Sundance and thought based on the acting alone it was the best movie she had seen.
Terrance Howard plays a failure of a pimp who mistreats his prostitutes and throws one of them on the porch in the middle of the night along with her crying baby in his walker.This movie depicts that there is no craft to making rap music and that it is the theme music of the slime of society.
At first glance Hustle and Flow may appear to be a goofy film about the hard- knock life of a pimp trying to break into the rap world, but after viewing the film at Sundance it is clear that this dramatic film stands heads and shoulders above its peers.
TERRENCE DASHON HOWARD has a break-out performance as DJay, the pimp with bigger dreams of becoming a rap star.
People, let me tell you something, and please read this through so you don't get the wrong impression here: I'm not a big fan of movies containing similar plots that involve mostly "black" culture, Ebonics, pimps and the kind of materialism they promote.
It ends with him having a hit single after getting into a gunfight and doing time, so I guess the moral of the story is "anyone without talent can succeed in rap if you are violent enough." Sadly, this is probably true.Although I am completely against censorship, I found myself agreeing somewhat with those who felt films like this one, Get Rich or Die Trying' , etc.
But you can't have it both ways: either the black community is badly served by these movies since blacks are really just good people like everyone else; or these films are truthful, blacks are to be feared and therefore the police are justified in racial profiling.
Yes, Terrence Howard gives a good acting performance, but I didn't find the movie that entertaining since it doesn't have much of a plot.
'Hustle & Flow' rocks.Performances: Terrence Howard is fantastic, the soul of the film.
And for a movie with some dark themes, it's a lot of fun to watch.If you're a fan of music, you're bound to love the lengthy scene in which DJay (Terrence Howard, in a fabulous Oscar-nominated performance) is trying to lay down a track for his breakthrough hip-hop (and Oscar-winning) song, "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp." It's fascinating to watch the whole process.
Hustle and Flow is fiction.Howard does a great job of making a dirt bag seem human.It is a workable film for its audience -- I (a white dude that believes "Saving Private Ryan" is the most incredible movie ever made) saw it in a theater that was 99% young black movie goers.The music is good -- expect MTV to work a couple of those in their mix soon.Of all the characters, Shug was the most believable.
This little gem was one of the few surprises of the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, and was certainly the best film in American Dramatic Competition (along with "Brick" and "Thumbsucker").Yes, the plot is riddled with clichés - but the film manages to transcend these shortcomings due to the slick camera-work of cinematographer Amy Vincent (who won the cinematography award at Sundance), the powerful and poignant performances by Terrence Dashon Howard in the title role (Djay), Taraji P.
Henson (Shug), and, of all people, Anthony Anderson (Key).The film follows a down-and-out Memphis pimp/hustler named Djay (Howard), who, along with his "primary investor" ho Nola (Taryn Manning), run tricks out of his beat-up Caddie in a back alley.Djay is then swept up in the crunk-rap game, with the emerging success of hometown Memphis product Skinny Black (Ludacris).
He's aided by an old friend Key (Anderson), who's still kept his rap-dream alive by recording gospel music at the local church, and his sidekick Shelby (DJ Qualls), who's got some ill crunk beats.Djay's pregnant "first lady" Shug (Henson) provides the hook to their second single ("You know it's hard out here for a pimp / when you trying to get the money for the rent / all the Cadillac and gas money spent / will have a whole lot of b*tches jumpin ship"), as well as some much-needed tenderness that helps ground Djay's rough, pimp-slappin character.This film won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and rightfully so - it's very engaging and a lot of fun.
Even when the sparks fly in the 3rd Act, and filmmaker Craig Brewer throws a left-hook featuring delicate material, the film is redeemed by its close.I enjoyed this film much more than Curtis Hanson's "8 Mile", and must thus crown "Hustle and Flow" as the greatest rap film ever made.(The title of this post is a reference to Djay's first, catchy single).
The subject matter of the movie probably is a little harsh for some people, but it is handled with so much sensitivity for the characters involved that the performances really make it a film well worth seeing.
I expected some heavy booty shaking and bling bling-stuff but the movie had more profound soul than its surface did tell.Djay (soulful Terrence Howard) is a pimp.
Terrence Howard plays a pimp named Djay but wants something different from his life.
While most movies with this kind of theme feature star rappers who can't act as the lead role, Howard takes his character to a new level.
This is, remember, the genre that begot "Glitter." In the past three years, however, the genre has risen high in the ranks of populist entertainment in both its fictional ("8 Mile") and non-fictional ("Ray" or "Walk the Line") forms."Hustle and Flow" crackles and pops onto the screen in its first frames as a throwback to character-driven 1970's movie-making that explored a certain criminal or non-traditional subculture of society (ala "Taxi Driver" or "Mindnight Cowboy").
A great ensemble cast and hyper-intelligent script give it a surprising emotional resonance and moral complexity, much in the same way P.T. Anderson peered into the dysfunctional family of adult filmmakers in "Boogie Nights." The characters in "Hustle & Flow" use music in the same way the characters in "Boogie Nights" used filming sex, as an abstract way to connect and communicate with the people around them.Terrance Howard (previously seen in a pivotal supporting part in the socially conscious "Crash") gives a powerhouse performance in the lead role.
I mainly went to see this film because I like Terrence Howard and he got a great review from Ebert and Roeper.
Terrence Howard is a great actor and he gives DJay such character.
Take a look at Terrence Howard's performance in "Crash," and then go see what he does in "Hustle & Flow." The guy does all the little (and big things) a film actor has to do to be credible.
I just take issue with it.Terrence Howard is great as DJay, a pimp with a few other side hustle (Taraji Henson, Paula Jai Parker, and Taryn Manning, are all terrific in their roles).They're all living with him, and one is his baby's mama, and exerts a lot of pressure in trying to get him to be the man that she wants him to be (a recurring theme in the movie, and with that I'll mention that Anthony Anderson was also great in his supporting turn).
Terrence Howard turns in a perfect performance as a pimp, pusher and aspiring rapper, working all the angles to get his first record made and leave the mean Memphis streets behind.This is a gritty and moving story.
Just like in "8 Mile", the no-punches-pulled songs are the only chance of a new beginning.Terrence Howard had appeared in some movies before "Hustle & Flow", but this was truly his breakthrough performance.
I'm not a hip-hop fan but the soundtrack works very well.Terrance Howard is solid in the lead role and gets great support from Taryn Manning, especially, Anthony Andersen, Taraji J Henson and Ludicrous.
Not to mention, the Oscar-winning song, "Its hard out there for a pimp" is not as good as the original song created for "Empire"; and it pretty much the only song in the movie.I fear many of those who see the reviews and awards for "Hustle & Flow" are going to be as disappointed as my wife.
DJay (Terrence Howard) is a Memphis pimp and a drug dealer with a dream.
Part rap, part urban drama and set in the south.Terrence Howard is a Memphis pimp, Djay who runs a stable of prostitutes and still has trouble making ends meet.
No wonder life is hard for a pimp.After an encounter with an old school friend who also works as a music mixer he decides to write and rap about his life experiences and hopes to have a shot at the big time.He hopes by persuading a big music star played by Ludicrous to listen to his tape.Terrence Howard would not be seen as your first choice to play a rapping street hustler as he tends to be known for more urbane characters in films such as Crash.He holds attention as the hustler and rapper who lives for today.
Terrence Howard was very good as the pimp in this movies.
Comic actor Anthony Anderson is surprisingly subtle as Key, and along with Elise Neal's sharp turn as his high-strung, upwardly mobile wife Yevette, represents the middle-class black lifestyle with observational precision.The three women who play the prostitutes leave vivid impressions - Paula Jai Parker powerfully shows the angry desperation of the aging Lexus; Taryn Manning combines the hick and huckster of Nola, the only one making DJay money; and in the film's most poignant performance, Taraji P.
As he moves fluently back and forth between scarifying and tender, Howard makes DJay not heroic but real and painfully wanting of a better lot in life.The DVD has several extras - Brewer's insightful commentary on an alternate audio track and three solid featurettes that lend insight to the production - "Behind the Hustle", which includes the cast members talking about their roles and showing their various auditions; "By Any Means Necessary", in which Brewer and producers John Singleton and Stephanie Allain talk about the struggles to get the film made; and "Creatin' Crunk", which showcases the various funk and rap stars called upon to create the memorable songs DJay and the others perform throughout the film.
Anthony Anderson and Ludicrous both give good performances too and also Taraji henson and Taryn Manning were very good in their roles as the women who were pimped by DJay (Howard).
In HUSTLE & FLOW writer/director Craig Brewer has finally given him a vehicle that allows him more screen time and the opportunity to create a character that burns his image on our memory indelibly.The story of a pimp and drug dealer in Memphis, stuck in the poverty level and rapidly drowning in mid-life crisis, who pulls himself into the stream of his need and dream to be something different, a rapper star, has been told before but never in the gritty realistic atmospheric way this film does.
Hustle & Flow has a rock-solid supporting cast, but Terence Howard needs an Oscar for his portrayal of the rapping pimp, D-Jay. He made it real, he brought D-Jay to life, he gave him his heart, the good, bad, inspiring, self-defeating, overcoming, and redeeming.
For others the only option they have to survive is to make it big.In this movie hustle and flow you see the struggle the main character, Dee Jay, takes as he sees a way out through music.
Terrence Howard delivers a great performance as the pimp with the dream.
Is it like the message of dreams in great stories like "Raisin in the Sun." It would've been that much better if we knew and was able to see a fair and just argument on why dreams do or do not come true.Now, I would like for people who don't understand life, who live in sheltered worlds where reality is on the opposite side of the bridge or those who know of that reality but want to act like it doesn't exist in order to avoid stereotype and to fit in with others, STOP MAKING RIDICULOUS COMMENTS ABOUT MOVIES PERIOD.
Everyone else was really good as well but these 3 made the film.And,when the Academy Award Nominations are announced,it'll be a damn shame if Terence Howard is left out for his wonderful role, as the first time ever in a movie a pimp,is portrayed as a decent human-being,when really he's not!