Hustle & Flow Reviews and Ratings


  • xtremeandy
    December 15, 2009
    xtremeandy
    A Memphis pimp attempts to launch a career as a rapper. That is basically it but the story goes further it tells you that is not that easy to become a rapper and since a famous rapper is coming back to the south that is the opportunity that DJay will use to launch his career but ...( read more)it isn't as easy as that either and we can see the struggles that he and his friends and (family) I don't know how to call them hoes!! maybe! female workers!! and where it takes it's toll. But everyone should have a dream!

    DJay (Terrence Howard) is a streetwise hustler and Memphis pimp with a stable of 3 girls, Shug (Taraji Henson) who is pregnant and not working, Lexus (Paula Jai Parker) who works in a strip club, and Nola (Taryn Manning) who works out of DJay's old beat-up car in a back alley. Even with two girls working and DJay selling dirt-weed on the side, it is hard for them to make ends meet. The utility company is about to shut off their utilities, if they don't pay the bill. DJay feels that he has hit rock bottom, and he needs a change in his life. A bum trades him a Casio keyboard for some weed, and DJay takes it home. While playing the keys, DJay gets an inspiration to write rap music. He begins to write down his pimping style raps, his flow, in a little notebook while Nola is turning tricks. DJay runs into Key (Anthony Anderson), an old friend and sound engineer, who takes him to a church choir performance that reaches DJay's soul. DJay looks inside his soul and decides to get out of the business, and now he has a dream of becoming a rapper. DJay teams up with Key to make a demo song. Skinny Black (Ludacris) is a platinum selling rapper about to return to Memphis for the 4th of July. DJay believes he can hustle Skinny to hear his tape, and his dream will come true.

    An aspiring emcee from the Dirty South who is trying to make it in the hip-hop world has to deal with many different types of people who try to bring him down, including strippers, his baby's mama, and all the things that try to keep a player down. This is probably his last chance to make it: he is approaching his 40s, and his life is looking downhill.

    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.

    DJay, a streetwise Memphis hustler tries to find a voice and realize his long-buried dreams. Though DJay has always had a way with words, that gift has long been misused; this philosopher-hustler live...( read more )s a dead-end life at the fringes of society. Anything more feels out of reach. Still, DJay wonders what happened to all the big dreams he had for his life. A chance encounter with an old friend, Key, a sound engineer who has always wanted to make it in the music business, spurs DJay: if he's ever going to make his mark, it has to happen now. He begins to write down his freestyle raps -- his flow -- and the two team up with Shelby, a church musician with a beat machine, to lay down bass-thumping crunk tracks. DJay's metamorphosis affects his entire house, as the women in his life -- Shug and Nola -- find ways to contribute to the creative process. With the impending visit to Memphis of hometown platinum-selling rapper Skinny Black, DJay has to make one last hustle if he's ever going to flow.
  • kairy
    November 12, 2009
    kairy
    Keep ALL your Dreams ALIVE! Excellent movie!
  • dukeakasmudge
    October 29, 2009
    dukeakasmudge
    Not a bad movie at all
  • martinhiggins
    October 22, 2009
    martinhiggins
    Movie was o.k good acting from Terrence Howard but good have been better at times.
  • lanba
    October 8, 2009
    lanba
    Excelente drama movie about rappers and music I'ts all good
  • Tsosie03
    September 16, 2009
    Tsosie03
    Add a review (optional)...
  • jscottcorley
    September 6, 2009
    jscottcorley
    Howard is tremendous and very believable. His "bottom bitch" also does a great job. Good songs too.
  • SageSlowdive
    August 27, 2009
    SageSlowdive
    Hollywood doesn't make good movies anymore.
  • theladydx
    August 27, 2009
    theladydx
    Different side of Terrence Howard
  • chawkins71
    August 19, 2009
    chawkins71
    OMG Everyone gotta see this movie is the greatest.
  • wataki2
    August 3, 2009
    wataki2
    I'm watching this right now on MTV as of 8/4/2009-12:24am..........i like it but cant really say much else until i think of some thing clever 2 say about it(lol)........Terrence Howard is so adorABLE hes worth the watch....
  • LYNNWOODS04
    July 26, 2009
    LYNNWOODS04
    I had a feeling I wouldn't care to much for this movie and I was right.. Another movie only worth seeing once..
  • musarampoto
    July 15, 2009
    musarampoto
    it is the Typical Terence Howard movies that leaves you thinking you motivated and inspired to be extra-ordinary. the good thing about it, is that it confirms that a slump in life is not life long it end and you learn from your mistakes.
  • jedihobbit
    July 14, 2009
    jedihobbit
    Surprisingly good. I really liked this movie. Terrence Howard is just awesome and the movie itself is well-made.
  • chastinabyardwinston
    July 11, 2009
    chastinabyardwinston
    strait gangsta. and i loved ihtt .
  • miah1011
    July 4, 2009
    miah1011
    i enjoyed this movie..."whoop that trick get em' "
  • italiachick
    June 28, 2009
    italiachick
    I loved Terrance Howard in this and Taraji P. Henson. They both were fantastic.
  • MrOrange8590
    June 19, 2009
    MrOrange8590
    i dont know if thats the guys names or what they do with the "bitchez" but i so dont care
  • McCorpse
    June 8, 2009
    McCorpse
    pretty good story about a pimp tryin to make it. plus 36mafia wrote the songs for it
  • Soundsofmadness
    May 4, 2009
    Soundsofmadness
    No thanks - Not interested
  • levestergreen
    April 14, 2009
    levestergreen
    Yeah, that's that jam because you know it's hard out here for a pimp! I liked the way this joint showed yet another side of trying to make it in the music trade! Now whip that trick! Oh yeah my first time seeing Taraji P. Henson on the big screen! Much props to the hometown nativ...( read more)e! I used to stay on Matthew Henson Avenue you dig?!
  • jackass001
    April 6, 2009
    jackass001
    this is excellent movie.
  • killah187911
    April 1, 2009
    killah187911
    one of the best hip-hop movies of all time. inspiring storyline, good acting, and of course, a bangin' soundtrack. a must-see not only for hip-hop fans but for everyone else as well.
  • shellns72
    March 31, 2009
    shellns72
    i would luv to see this movie
  • ILoveHisBigEgo
    March 31, 2009
    ILoveHisBigEgo
    Funny, but it is a good lesson of how hard it is to survive in this world
  • mondopimp
    March 27, 2009
    mondopimp
    A different kind of hood movie, and by different i mean one that dosent suck. It hard out there for a pimp. Terrence Howard gives a BEAST performance.
  • steven544
    March 26, 2009
    steven544
    This movie could have turned out bad with cliched acting and over the top performances, but what makes you stick with the story, is that you really feel sorry for these people and you want them to succeed. True, the hook of the story, a pimp wanting to be a rapper, sounds really ...( read more)fun. Good story, perfect characters well realized. Witty, crackling dialogue. You can't make this stuff up. And comparing this to 8 Mile is like comparing dogshit to gold. A deeply flawed protagonist who is able to reach into himself and trnsform himself through the power of art, larger themes involve the disillusion with fame, consumer culture.
  • Fragglefreak
    March 18, 2009
    Fragglefreak
    A surprisingly good movie about a DJ trying to make it big.
  • richardcandy2002
    March 12, 2009
    richardcandy2002
    this movie is the best movie
  • danm5150
    February 28, 2009
    danm5150
    Good acting, good story, I just couldn't get into it. I didn't really care about any of these people. I do appreciate the story.
  • MIWilliams1
    February 2, 2009
    MIWilliams1
    yeah it's hard to be a pimp
  • PattyCsU
    January 31, 2009
    PattyCsU
    Not what I was expecting, which was a half ass c-grade rap movie. Better than 8-Mile, this is the best performance I've seen from Terrence Howard. I didn't think I could feel sympathy for a pimp before this film. The writing is great and the original songs done by Howard himself ...( read more)are better than most of the songs by real rappers today. The first half was a bit slow and the acting by some of the supporting cast was over the top. But the end was brilliant and unpredictable. 4/5
  • sashabeisinger
    January 31, 2009
    sashabeisinger
    I love this movie! It's the shit!
  • shawnmiller2
    January 16, 2009
    shawnmiller2
    Was SHOCKED, SHOCKED at how good this was...went into it with "just another hip hop movie" low expectations...hadn't really heard much about it...

    Great job of acting by Howard...good plot...
  • paulanthonynelson
    January 11, 2009
    paulanthonynelson
    An effective ode to the power of dreams infused with American Southern street attitude, written and directed with a startling amount of verve and confidence by Craig Brewer, who would go on to distinguish himself further with BLACK SNAKE MOAN. Terrence Howard is fantastic as DJay...( read more), a battling Memphis pimp who hates what he does, and hits a mid-life crisis of sorts, reacquainting him with his long-forgotten dreams of being a rapper. His journey to rediscover the artist inside, and that of the makeshift family of hos and musos that band together to help him, is soulful, fascinating and painfully, joyously real. Occasionally lays it on a bit thick, but the Memphis atmosphere is so tangible, and the film has such an abundance of heart, that it's undeniably evocative and powerful.
  • bjphoto
    January 10, 2009
    bjphoto
    Terrence Howard Lights the screen on fire! One of my favorite movies from one of my favorite writer/directors.
  • neagamb
    December 30, 2008
    neagamb
    I've always appreciated terrence
  • Gidget22
    December 27, 2008
    Gidget22
    I've never felt so lost without subtitles
  • ghettoqueen747
    December 27, 2008
    ghettoqueen747
    I FREAKIN LOVE THIS MOVIE!! IT HAS SEX, LOVE, HATE, MUSIC, DRUGS, AMBITION, DREAMS, HOPES, FAILER, AND SO FORTH. I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I HAVE EVER SEEN. IT PROVES THAT ITS HARD OUT HERE FOR A PIMP!!
  • mystress93
    December 27, 2008
    mystress93
    Terrible ending, finished before its time; but the rest was quite good.
  • Chhris
    December 19, 2008
    Chhris
    Not a bad movie, but not a great one. I think this was a little below average but still worth a watch if you like the style of movie/music.
  • paulparsons2
    December 6, 2008
    paulparsons2
    A really great tale that left me oddly conflicted at the end.

    I liked Terence Howard's work here. Playing our hero, D Jay the pimp / pusher / hustler, he doesn't attempt to make him likeable (which he certainly isn't). Using everyone around him to acheive his goals, you get t...( read more)he sense that he doesn't actually sacrifice anything (unlike his ladies) to get what he wants but you still want him to succeed. That's clever work on Howard's part.

    The scenes where he puts his tracks down with his buddies (inc. D.J. Squalls very likeable) are great to watch, you really feel the excitement in the room as things start to come together. All of the characters are nicely defined and as much as I liked Terence's work here, I thought that Taryn Manning's Nola was the most affecting character. Unsure of her place in the world and wanting something more than just existing, she provdes the film wth some really heartbreaking moments. The scenes towards the end where she declares "I'm in charge" was a really nice moment and the fact that she becomes D Jays saviour gave this film a great pay off for me.

    I liked this film a lot and the fact that I am conflicted about whether D Jay deserves to acheive his dream makes this even more interesting.
  • beth19862005
    December 1, 2008
    beth19862005
    A good movie!!! I liked it!!!!
  • aidenvac
    November 25, 2008
    aidenvac
    love the rapping and stuffs
  • canadamooserm
    October 28, 2008
    canadamooserm
    Started watching it... and it irritated the hell out of me. I officially hate the Gangsta Drama genre.

Summary

Hustle & Flow Summary