Hustle & Flow

By all rights an MTV-produced movie about a pimp who hopes to become a rapper should be terrible, a hopelessly “with-it” take on the moldy Hollywood tale about the little guy grasping for the American Dream. But against the odds Craig Brewer's Hustle & Flow is a good flick—gritty, well-acted and, until a too-cute finale, worth the suspension of disbelief. The film transcends its formulaic plot because of Terrence Howard, who cuts a fascinating, charismatic figure as DJay, the Memphis lowlife who tires of his small-time status and goes for the brass ring. Howard is so good, moving with feral grace and tossing off Brewer's colorful dialogue with style to spare, that he almost makes you forget the character's somewhat implausible decision to change careers by writing rap lyrics based on his life. And the supporting cast is fine, too—especially Taryn Manning and Taraji P. Henson as two of his helpful hookers, Anthony Anderson as an old pal who helps him cut a demo, DJ Qualls as an unlikely keyboard whiz, and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges as an established rapper. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by writer/director Craig Brewer, the 27-minute making-of featurette “Behind the Hustle,” “By Any Means Necessary” on financing (15 min.), “Creatin' Crunk” on music (14 min.), a five-minute featurette on the “Memphis Hometown Premiere,” and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a film with a commanding central performance.] (F. Swietek)