Hustle & Flow

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Hustle & Flow
Directed by Craig Brewer
Written by Craig Brewer
Starring Terrence Howard
Anthony Anderson
Taryn Manning
Taraji P. Henson
D.J. Qualls
Ludacris
Isaac Hayes
Distributed by Paramount Classics
Release date(s) 2005
Running time 116 minutes
Language English
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Hustle & Flow is a 2005 film written and directed by Craig Brewer about a Memphis hustler called DJay, played by Terrence Howard, who aspires to become a rapper.

The film was nominated an Academy Awards for Best Actor for Howard and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for Three 6 Mafia's "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp".

Contents

[edit] Plot

DJay is a petty drug dealer and a pimp with three prostitutes in his charge, but he is dissatisfied with his life. After acquiring a keyboard and meeting an old friend from school, Key, who has become a sound technician, DJay decides to try making hip hop songs. Key and his friend Shelby help DJay put together a hit song. DJay proves to have a real talent for lyrics, in which he expresses the frustrations of a small-time hustler struggling to survive.

The group experiences many setbacks throughout the creative process. DJay must hustle those around him in order to procure proper equipment and recording time. Key's relationship with his wife becomes strained, while DJay throws out one of his prostitutes for ridiculing his enterprise. The group eventually records several tracks, including "Whoop That Trick" and their primary single "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp", on which DJay's pregnant prostitute Shug provides backing vocals. DJay begins to develop a romantic connection with Shug after their recording.

DJay's friend Arnel informs him that Skinny Black, a successful Memphis rapper, will be returning to the neighborhood for a party. DJay gains admittance to the party under the pretext of providing marijuana, with the intention of giving Skinny Black his demo tape. Black is dismissive at first, but after a long night DJay successfully hustles him into taking the tape. Before leaving the party, however, DJay discovers that the drunken Black has destroyed his tape. In a rage, DJay assaults Black and shoots one of his entourage in the arm before fleeing.

DJay is arrested, but in prison he learns that his prostitute Nola has hustled the local radio disc jockeys into playing his songs, which have become local hits. The end of the film, in a bit of irony, sees a pair 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 DJay 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.

[edit] Cast

Actor Role Notes
Terrence Howard DJay A small-time hustler who is dissatisfied with his unglamorous life and yearns to express himself.
Anthony Anderson Key A modestly successful audio technician with a passion for music.
Taryn Manning Nola A levelheaded prostitute of DJay's.
Taraji P. Henson Shug A meek prostitute of DJay's who is pregnant with an unknown client's child.
DJ Qualls Shelby A friend of Key's and an amateur musician.
Chris "Ludacris" Bridges Skinny Black A successful Memphis rapper who has forgotten his roots.
Paula Jai Parker Lexus A caustic prostitute and part-time stripper with a young child.
Elise Neal Yevette Key's straightlaced wife.
Isaac Hayes Arnel A bar owner who is sympathetic to DJay's aspirations.

[edit] Awards and Nominations

  • Austin Film Critics
    • Breakthrough Artist Award: Terrence Howard (Winner) also won for Four Brothers, Get Rich or Die Tryin, Lackawanna Blues and Their Eyes Were Watching God
  • Black Movie Awards
    • Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Terrence Howard (Winner)
    • Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Taraji P. Henson (Winner)
    • Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Anthony Anderson (Winner)
    • Outstanding Motion Picture: (Nominated)
  • Sundance Film Festival
    • Audience Award, Dramatic: Craig Brewer (Winner)
    • Excellence in Cinematography Award, Dramatic: Amelia Vincent (Winner)

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • This is the second movie where Terrence Howard and Ludacris share a fight scene, the first being Crash.
  • Terrence Howard originally turned down the role of DJay because he was trying to get away from being cast as a pimp, but he later signed on to play the role after recognizing the complexity of the character.
  • As concepts of both hustle and flow are unique to African American culture, it turned out to be nearly impossible to find proper translations for international release of the film. For example, Russian translation of the title means "The fuss and the torrent".

[edit] See also

[edit] External links