Hustle & Flow (2005)

Too much of everything

the audience applauded

Best movie ever!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I am amazed at all the 10 stars/high ratings given to this film. I actually enjoy watching this film in the same vein as I like watching Showgirls. This film is so bad it actually becomes an inverse of itself in an enjoyable way. I would rate this film up with Showgirls to be one of the worst films ever. By the same token, it is an enjoyable film to watch and laugh out loud.By the way, when Terrance Howard was rapping, it appeared his voice was running through a processor of some kind, vintage whenever-the-film-was-made. If he couldn't have afforded microphones, did he send the blond back to the store for another "transaction"?

DJay,played by Terrence Howard, is a pimp and drug dealer who is dissatisfied with his life and wants to make a change in Hustle And Flow.After acquiring a keyboard and reacquainting himself with an old friend from school,Key, played by Anthony Anderson,who has become a sound technician. Then,he decides to try making hip hop songs. Key and sound-mixer friend,Shelby,played by DJ Qualls coordinates with DJay put together several songs. 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. At 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 him 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.Hustle And Flow was a great independent drama film.Terrence Howard was exceptional as DJay.The screenplay by Craig Brewer was also great in trying to tell a story of a man who sought change in his life.His direction by was crisp as well. Highly recommended for viewers who seek themes about the welfare of disenfranchised people particularly African- Americans. Highly recommended indeed.

I've watched this movie about a dozen times now, and finally decided to give it a rating here on IMDb: 10/10.The movie is so close to flawless, so brilliant in it's depiction of real people, so well put together that I find myself just dumbfounded every time I watch it. Like another reviewer, I find myself moved to tears by the poignancy of the struggles these people have to make something special and beautiful out of literally nothing. Life is hard for most of the people on this planet, and the continuous beatdowns take their toll, yet somehow, people find the courage, the will, to keep on keeping on and trying to create order out of the chaos. The depiction of this situation in this movie is inspiring.The characters are the lowest of the low, stuck in horrible lives, in terrible conditions, and cognizant of it. Yet they find inspiration in their desperation, find the strength to keep struggling, even when it seems that every turn is a dead end. Like Sisyphus, they never give up, never let the boulder force them back down the mountain, and it is this indomitable characteristic in all the main players that keeps you watching, keeps you interested, keeps you caring about them and what will happen to them.Amazing performances from all involved, great direction, great script, AWESOME music and a realistic feel that really hasn't much existed since the great films of the 1970s; this movie is one of very few that I will ever call flawless.

I appreciated the effort, the heart, and some of the acting but in the end it felt fake.Craig is a white director and this story, set on the gritty fringes of Memphis society, rang false time and time again. I'm not saying a white guy can't write a hip hop film, I'm saying Craig should not have tried to write this hip hop film.Strange as it sounds, I would love to see an accurate portrayal of a middle aged pimp trying to get by in Memphis written by someone with a little first hand experience and with an ear for authentic dialogue. Oh, and leave the candy-coated, cliché, rags to riches rapper story out of it.