Film Review: Hustle and Flow (dir. C. Brewer, 2005)

This film documenting how it's out here for a pimp is surprisingly compelling. As you almost certainly know by now, Djay (Terence Howard) is a small-time hustler in Memphis, pimping the miniscule Nola (Taryn Manning) out of his car and Lexus out of a strip club. Plus, he's got Shug (Taraji P. Henson) at home, pregnant with some john's child. But Djay, like so many people, is convinced that he should be, and can be so much more than a pimp. In a series of chance encounters, he meets up with a Casio keyboard, and then an old friend who "produces," if just church choirs and recording depositions. That friend, "Key," is played by the ubiquitous Anthony Anderson (I count ten credited appearances in tv and film in 2005 alone, for example), but he actually acts here, and quite well.

Djay's plan is to record a demo and get it in the hands of local rapper made good, Skinny Black (Ludacris), when he delivers some premium grass to a Fourth of July party at Arnel's (Arnel is played by that infamous Scientologist Isaac Hayes). He hustles, he flows, and in the end, he gets in a little over his head.

Things don't go quite as planned, and I won't ruin the ending. But the characters actually grow and change as they struggle to find some meanings in their dreary lives. It's that part of the film that's the most compelling.

Howard is impressive in this role. He masters a difficult accent (well, btw), and he makes Djay a real character. The film doesn't sugarcoat these characters. Speaking of which, maybe the most amazing performance is Taryn Manning's as Nola, the streetwalker. Given her career so far, I guess it's not a surprise to see her put in a Charlize Theron-like performance, acting through make-up and costuming that makes her significantly less-than glamorous. But this performance definitely put her on the map, for me.

When did Ludacris become such a pop cultural icon? Crash, Hustle and Flow. Yesterday at the Mall, I saw him in an AIDS awareness campaign advertisement. I know I'm getting old, but when did that happen, and how did I miss it?