Friday, July 22, 2005

R

For sex and drug content, pervasive language and some violence

Drama

Terrence Dashon Howard, DJ Qualls, Ludacris, Taryn Manning, Anthony Anderson, Isaac Hayes, Taraji P. Henson, Elise Neal, Paula Jai Parker

Craig Brewer

Craig Brewer

Hustle and Flow (2005)

Djay is a pimp suffering a midlife crisis, yearning to be a rap star, and after being galvanized by a gospel song, he gets to work, finding it a very hard road to fame and respect.

“Hustle & Flow” is the redemptive story of a streetwise Memphis hustler trying to find his voice and realize his long-buried dreams. Though DJay (Terrence Howard) has always had a way with words, that gift has long been misused; this philosopher-hustler lives a dead-end life at the fringes of society. Anything more feels out of reach. Still, DJay wonders what happened to all the big dreams he had for his life. A chance encounter with an old friend, Key (Anthony Anderson), a sound engineer who has always wanted to make it in the music business, spurs DJay: if he’s ever going to make his mark, it has to happen now. He begins to write down his freestyle raps -- his flow -- and the two team up with Shelby (DJ Qualls), a church musician with a beat machine, to lay down bass-thumping crunk tracks. DJay’s metamorphosis affects his entire house, as the women in his life -- Shug (Taraji P. Henson) and Nola (Taryn Manning) – find ways to contribute to the creative process. With the impending visit to Memphis of hometown platinum-selling rapper Skinny Black (Ludacris), DJay has to make one last hustle if he’s ever going to flow.