Hustle & Flow (2005)

With help from his friends, a Memphis pimp in a mid-life crisis attempts to become a successful hip-hop emcee.

Director:

Craig Brewer

Writer:

Craig Brewer

Stars:

Terrence Howard, Ludacris, Anthony Anderson

Won 1 Oscar. Another 25 wins & 46 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Terrence Howard	...	Djay
Anthony Anderson	...	Key
Taryn Manning	...	Nola
Taraji P. Henson	...	Shug
DJ Qualls	...	Shelby (as D.J. Qualls)
Ludacris	...	Skinny Black
Paula Jai Parker	...	Lexus
Elise Neal	...	Yevette
Isaac Hayes	...	Arnel
Juicy J	...	Tigga
William Engram	...	Slobs (as William 'Poon' Engram)
Bobby Sandimanie	...	Yellow Jacket (as Bobby 'I-20' Sandimanie)
Haystak	...	Mickey
Claude Phillips	...	Harold
Josey Scott	...	Elroy

Storyline

Aspiring emcee DJay works the angles to get his first record made with help from assorted people in his Memphis 'hood. And when he hears that hip-hop superstar Skinny Black is heading to his area, he throws together a supreme hustle to grab Skinny's attention.

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Plot Keywords:

blowjob | electronic keyboard | audio cassette | car | disc jockey | 

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Taglines:

The music will inspire them. The dream will unite them. This summer get crunk.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sex and drug content, pervasive language and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ritmo de un sueño

Filming Locations:

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,017,808, 24 July 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$22,201,636, 20 November 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Crunk Pictures, Homegrown Pictures, MTV Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally titled "Hook, Hustle & Flow".

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Goofs

When Djay changes the radio station in the car, the FM analog tuner is visibly set to the left side of the dial close to 94, but the announcer identifies the station as 107.

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Quotes

DJay: [when Nola walks in the room] Get the fuck outta here man.

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Connections

Referenced in The Best of RiffTrax Shorts: Volume Two (2009)

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Soundtracks

Still Tippin' (It's a Man's World Remix)
by Mike Jones, Paul Slayton, Stayve Thomas & Salih Williams
Performed by Mike Jones featuring Nicole Wray
Mike Jones performs courtesy of Warner Bros. Records
Nicole Wray performs courtesy of Damon Dash Music Group
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing

User Reviews

Saw it at the Los Angeles Film festival as well....

...and I enjoyed it. What saves the film from being just another badly made 'hood flick, is Terrence Howard. I am so glad Craig cast an actor and not a rapper to play the lead. Terrence brings depth of character, pathos, and sympathy to a low brow pimp with low quality product to hustle.

This movie could've turned out bad with clichéd acting and over the top performances (there were moments where I felt his strip club whore was too much), but what makes you stick with the story, is that you really feel sorry for these people and you want them to succeed. The producer Stephanie Allain was at the L.A. premiere, and said that the character wanting to have a dream of better things was the universal theme that struck her. Craig (the director) also said that the story used bits and pieces of his own life and people he has met in Memphis to craft a story that really does happen to a lot of black people trying to get into the rap game. True, the hook of the story, a pimp wanting to be a rapper, sounds really funny. Lord knows if Mike Epps or Brian Hooks (or God forbid, Snoop) had been cast in the lead, this movie would've turned booty real quick. But once again, Terrence Howard makes this story come alive. I enjoy rap, but don't find crunk and a lot of lyrics enjoyable, but I must admit, in the context of the world it comes from and the hopes that these characters have, I was one of many people (the black ones in particular) who found myself swaying and singing the lyrics to "Whoop that Trick" et al.

As for the person on this board who commented that he too was at the Los Angeles Film Festival and found the white characters "acting black" tiresome, it must be said that in the south, black speech patterns and culture get picked up by whites. Living in close proximity creates that, and I didn't feel that the white characters were playing black. There was one comment in the movie where DJ Qualls arrives and Terrenc Howards character pulls Anthony Anderson aside and and questions the white boy's skills as a beat junkie, but that was the only time his color was brought up. But it was natural, no different than guys from Metallica questioning the skills of a black dude auditioning for a guitar gig. The subtext was simply "Does this dude even listen to crunk music?" Once his skills are proved, there is no question of race anymore.

The film should do well. I will see it again with my mother. Yes my mother. She loves Terrence Howard as much as I do, and I feel the movie should have a wide audience, young and old (with parental supervision). I enjoy watching Terrence Howard work, he makes you feel everything he feels on screen, and if this thing doesn't make him blow up, I don't know what will. He is the movie. See it for yourself and decide for yourself. Cuz it's hard out here for a pimp, ya'all.

Ps. For those feminists who get their panties all twisted because of any images of female exploitation, I must comment that all the women in this film (as broke down and trashy as they are) have dreams too, and Terrence's character realizes that they deserve better and strives to help them by helping himself. There is no such thing as a good pimp (like there is no such thing as a good slave master) but what redeems Terrence is that his pimp transforms his life and all those around him for the better.