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List Price: $14.99 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 4467
Released: January 10, 2006 |
| Our Price: $3.99 |
| Used Price: $1.69 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
DJay is a Memphis hustler who spends most days in a parked Chevy philosophizing about life while Nola (Taryn Manning), turn tricks in the backseat. He's not very good at pimping, but he can hustle almost anything or anyone and makes enough to keep himself and three girls satisfied and housed in his shotgun home. DJay however is in the midst of a midlife crisis; he quietly harbors dreams of becoming a respected rapper. When he learns from a local club owner, Arnel (Isaac Hayes), that rap mogul Skinny Black (Ludacris), is rolling through town, DJay decides to record his flow with the hopes of slipping his demo to Skinny. With little help from his friends and "family" DJay sets in motion the hustle of his life, and galvanizes the lives of those around him as they learn that "Everybody's gotta have a dream."
Description of Hustle & Flow (Widescreen Edition):
The idea of a soulful pimp as the hero of a movie will strike some viewers as objectionable and perhaps even repellent, but Terrence Dashon Howard's complex and fierce performance will challenge such easy moral decisions. DJay (Howard, Crash, The Best Man) hustles a small stable of whores, including corn-rowed Nola (Taryn Manning, A Lot Like Love). When he learns that former local rapper turned superstar named Skinny Black (real life rapper Ludacris) is coming back to town for the 4th of July, DJay teams up with a frustrated sound engineer (Anthony Anderson, Kangaroo Jack) and a geeky musician (DJ Qualls, Road Trip) to put together a demo tape that he hopes will be his ticket to fame and fortune. What's most impressive about Hustle & Flow is that it doesn't oversell its hero. DJay's aspirations are more economic than poetic--he's not out to create art, he just wants a better life. This lack of pretension allows the movie to capture a genuine sense of how creativity can improve people's lives, which surprises DJay as much as anyone. The movie's other strength is a keen eye for social behavior, in particular the ways in which DJay manipulates everyone around him. Howard, who's almost always stood out in every movie he's made, plays these scenes with what can only be called smooth desperation. The entire cast gives substantial performances, but it's Howard who drives the movie irresistibly forward. --Bret Fetzer
Hustle & Flow (Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
Moviedom 
2008-07-25 - Hustle and Flow was a movie we were very interested in seeing. It took a while and I had to exchange from HD copy, but we are enjoying the movie over and over again.
Solid Gold... 
2008-06-12 - Wow...there's nothing original about this movie, but the characterization and the acting is top notch. Terrence Howard gives an Oscar worthy performance and does such an incredible job of becoming his character. I completely disagree with those that have called this out-dated or overly cliche. Cliche it may be, but let's be honest here - most of the best movies are. The question is how does the movie move you, and Hustle and Flow is incredible. I'm going to go out and buy the soundtrack tomorrow.
This movie was a hustle 
2008-03-22 - Terrence Howard is a great actor and for him to be in a movie this dumb is reeks of the same desperation to stay relevant that Cuba Gooding Jr had when he played the godawful Boat Trip. Terrence Howard plays D'Jay, a pimp who tries to get into the rap business. The movie is dull and you can tell that Terrance did not want to be there by looking at how bland his performance is. His songs are dull and painful to listen to and the fact that they were even nominated for an award is a good reason not not take award shows serious. I mean Its Hard Out Here For A Pimp is a straight garbage and any sane person can tell you that "D'Jay" cant flow for diddly squat. Despite the glowing reviews for this movie, it was a pretty tedious and lame affair. And the soundtrack that accompanies the movie is just as bad as the movie itself. Two thumbs WAY down for this minstrel theater disasterpiece.
It's Already Insignificant 
2008-02-20 - Just this week I rewatched 1976's Taxi Driver and was struck by how ahead of its time that movie looked. In contrast, Hustle & Flow looks like a B-movie after just two years. This movie was one of those over-hyped studio babies that had so much money sunk into it that Paramount had to push it like mad via advertising. This movie was all political campaign and soft substance. The irony wasn't lost on even the jaded Hollywood community. Remember the award presenter's comment just after the soundtrack won an Oscar?
CRAIG BREWER, OPUS 2
2008-01-26 - **** 2005. Written and directed by Craig Brewer. Two nominations and one Academy award. Excellent second movie of a director who came up with a first-class film Black Snake Moan one year later. Three common themes in these movies : redemption, no good girls and music. Simply worth your attention.
