Main Cast: Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, Paula Jai Parker, D.J. Qualls, Ludacris
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 114 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
One man's struggle to rise above his circumstances prompts him to try a career in music in this acclaimed drama from writer and director Craig Brewer. Djay (Terrence Howard) is a low-level pimp and drug dealer who scraped together a living in the ghettos of Memphis, TN. Djay isn't happy with his life, and the realization that he's reached the same age when his father unexpectedly died has made him start thinking about changing his ways. Djay has always had a gift for spinning stories, and after picking up a cheap keyboard, he begins picking out beats to go along with his rhymes. After bumping into an old high-school buddy who works in gospel music, Key (Anthony Anderson), Djay decided to take the plunge and remake himself as a rapper. With the technical know-how of Key and the musical input of a local beat maker named Shelby (DJ Qualls), Djay begins turning his way with words and his first-hand knowledge of the street life into music, as his two live-in girlfriends, Lexus (Paula Jai Parker) and Shug (Taraji P. Henson), add their musical input and emotional support and Nola (Taryn Manning) continues to turn tricks to pay the bills. When local boy-turned-nationwide hip-hop star Skinny Black (Ludacris) comes to town to pay a visit to Arnel (Isaac Hayes), a club owner friendly with Djay, he sees an opportunity to put his demo in the hands of someone who can bring his music to the masses, though it turns out to be far more difficult than he expected. Hustle & Flow had its world premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, where it received a number of rave reviews and took home the Audience Award. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Even more than its thematic cousin, Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile, Hustle & Flow harnesses the grungy essence of grass-roots hip-hop -- the kind produced in basements and garages -- and filters it through one of 2005's most intense performances. From his throwback 1970s title card onward, writer/director Craig Brewer has produced a blisteringly hip breakthrough, one that's as capable with iconic images as it is with penetrating a deeply complex antihero. Playing that central figure is Terrence Howard as Djay, a revelation of simmering menace, whose desire to escape his daily pimp-and-ho grind is a physical force. As coldly efficient as his methods are, this is clearly a man with a conscience, a stern yet secretly caring father figure to the stable of prostitutes who live in his Memphis bungalow. The poetics of his street philosophies -- unobtrusive soliloquies in Brewer's dialogue -- naturally dovetail into the necessary rhythms and life experiences for rap. As he gathers a motley group of collaborators, the music takes shape with a booming and vibrating gristle that is absolutely invigorating. Inspired by the overnight fame of another local street figure, Djay channels his gifts of persuasion into everything from acquiring sound equipment to quieting the neighbors during recording. The supporting performances add whatever Brewer and Howard cannot. DJ Qualls excels as a talented white mixing geek whose street posturing actually ends up seeming cool. Anthony Anderson clearly relishes a well-deserved respite from contemporary blaxploitation comedies, yet still joins with Qualls to contribute the film's significant doses of humor. Even rapper Ludacris is good as Skinny Black. But sharing the soul of this film with Howard are women: Taryn Manning's Nola, whose braided-blond tough girl just wants a little validation, and Taraji Henson's Shug, who finds her own fragile relevance through the music. The rare MTV Films release that actually uses songs as enthralling and indispensable ingredients, Hustle & Flow is an unqualified shot of cinematic adrenaline, that studio's best film since Election. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Preston Holmes - Associate Producer, Kimberly Hardin - Casting, Dwight Williams - Co-producer, Paul A. Simmons - Costume Designer, Van A. Hayden - First Assistant Director, Craig Brewer - Director, Billy Fox - Editor, Dwight Williams - Executive Producer, Scott Bomar - Composer (Music Score), Paul Stewart - Musical Direction/Supervision, Jordan Houston - Songwriter, Cedric Coleman - Songwriter, Paul Beauregard - Songwriter, Keith Brian Burns - Production Designer, Amelia Vincent - Cinematographer, John Singleton - Producer, Stephanie Allain - Producer, Andy Black - Sound/Sound Designer, Craig Brewer - Screenwriter, Joni Wheeler - Set Decorator
Hustle & Flow is a 2005independent film written and directed by Craig Brewer about a Memphis hustler called DJay, played by Terrence Howard, who experiences a midlife crisis and is compelled to face his aspiration to become a rapper. DJay, a petty drug dealer and equally petty pimp, and his original and primary charge, prostitute Nola, troll the streets and under bridges and overpasses of Memphis, looking for clients. From the start, it is clear that Nola is more DJay's business partner and fellow hustler (DJay refers to her as his "primary investor"), rather than his subordinate, and that neither of them is satisfied with their lives or with the ins and outs of prostitution; however, each is also in a crisis about exactly what to do instead. While DJay quickly turns to music once he re-discovers the keyboard, Nola remains indecisive and crisis-ridden throughout much of the movie. Despite this, however, the two always remain close, and "in charge" of everything around them, and Nola eventually finds her purpose, as well.
DJay is dissatisfied with his life. After acquiring a keyboard and reacquainting himself with an old friend from school, Key, who has become a sound technician, DJay decides to try making hip hop songs. Key and his sound-mixer friend Shelby help DJay put together several "flow" songs. While DJay quickly proves to have a real talent for lyrics, in which he expresses the frustrations of a small-time hustler struggling to survive, it is his first fixed-length song, done at the urging of these friends, which most obviously has the 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, for ridiculing his art. DJay's pregnant prostitute Shug 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 begins to show a romantic interest in Shug.
DJay's friend Arnel informs him that Skinny Black, a successful Memphis rapper, will be returning to the neighborhood for the 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 DJay successfully hustles him into taking the tape. Before leaving the party, however, DJay discovers that the drunken Black has destroyed his tape. In a rage, DJay assaults Black and shoots a member of his entourage in the arm before fleeing.
DJay is arrested, but in prison he learns that his prostitute Nola has hustled the local radio disc jockeys into playing his songs, which have become local hits. The end of the film, in a bit of irony, sees a duo of prison guards who have their own rap group asking DJay to listen to their demo, much as DJay had approached Skinny Black. After the guards request DJay to listen to the demo, he accepts their tape and responds with the following: "You know what they say, everybody gotta have a dream," which was the slogan for the film.
Terrence Howard initially turned down the role of DJay. He reportedly was attempting to avoid being typecast as a "pimp" archetype. However, after recognizing the complexity and depth of the character, he reversed his earlier decision and took on the role.
As concepts of both hustle and flow are unique to African American culture, it turned out to be nearly impossible to find proper translations for international release of the film. For example, the Russian translation of the title means "The fuss and the torrent".
