Search - Hustle and Flow [HD DVD] on HD DVD

Fantastic and very human

wolfgang731 | 01/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was a little apprehensive about this film because I'm not keen on anything that either glamorizes or tries to legitimize anything as heinous or disgusting as pimping, but being a Terrence Howard fan and taking into account his best actor nomination, I put all pre-conceived notions aside and watched it. The movie blew me away. This is very much a universal film in that, ultimately, it's about our hopes and our need to create something extraordinary as a testament of our sojourn here. Realizing that he is the same age as his father when he passed away, low level pimp and drug dealer DJay decides, with the help of an old school buddy, now gospel producer, to pursue his long-time ambition of becoming a rapper, following in the footsteps of local-guy-made-good Skinny Black (played by Ludacris). What made this a very moving experience was that Craig Brewer didn't attempt to either praise nor condemn his characters but rather create wholly credible people, warts and all, that resonate within everyone because, in the end, it's about wanting to better yourself, to realize a dream, to achieve something extraordinary, to be respected and to leave your mark on the world, regardless of how insignificant it may seem to everyone else. None of these characters may come across as necessarily likeable but dang if they aren't believable and it's due to that that their personal trials and misgivings impact the viewer. The character of Nola was, for me, the living, heartbreaking embodiment of lost youth, desperation and wasted innocence; a person knowing they were meant for greater things but not knowing what that is and how to escape the drudgery of her existence and be part of something special. We see how she practically glows with self-confidence when in her small way she contributes to DJay's dreams. Terrence Howard delivers a nuanced, heartfelt and eloquent performance as DJay, with Taryn Manning as Nola, bringing a profound humanity to a country girl caught in her own life. Taraji Henson is perfect as Shug, a weary yet confident reflection of D Jay's dreams and Paula Jai Parker is equally impressive as Lexus, the walking manifestation of bitterness and resentment, throwing her vitriol in the face of everyone's hopes. Anthony Anderson and D.J. Qualls round out the cast, as long time buddy/producer and a skinny white boy with rhythm and dreams of his own to spare, respectively."

Familiar plotting with excellent acting and writing.

D. Knouse | vancouver, washington United States | 01/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"4.5 stars. We've all seen this story before. A gangster, or a pimp as it is in this story, sees a chance to crawl out of the nowhere life he is seemingly trapped in and achieve some sort of redemption and/or trancendency through music. It's easy to root for the nobody reaching for the brass ring against all odds in the dim hope of becoming recognized as a greater human being than anybody thought possible. But most of these type of films fall flat due to poor writing and second-rate acting. "Hustle & Flow" is a surprising exception. The acting, all around, is often astonishing. Terrence Howard leads the way with a dominating performance which reminded me of the fine work of Benicio Del Toro, where both actors completely lose themselves in the role and we all believe the character actually exists somewhere out there in the world. The dialogue is superb, and with so many good actors drawn to this film, the words reach extremely high levels of literary sharpness. The biggest surprise for me, however, was that I thoroughly enjoyed all the music throughout the movie. I despise most Rap, but in "Hustle & Flow" the rapping is smooth and enveloped with soul, thus achieving much more depth of emotion in the final summation. Once again, an independent film shows up all those over-hyped, over-budget Hollywood films that we are force-fed each year. This is the first DVD in months where, as the credits began to roll, I eagerly hit the menu button and scoured the special features section for more "Hustle & Flow." Except for the familiar plotting, which is the only thing even slightly generic about this movie, the end result is phenomenal, all-around excellence."