Hustle & Flow (2005)

Monson & Yeomans Rating: 2.7/10

IMDB User's Rating: 7.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Rating: 82%

Director: Craig Brewer

AllMovie.com Plot Synopsis: One man's struggle to rise above his circumstances prompts him to try a career in music in this acclaimed drama from writer and director Craig Brewer. Djay (Terrence Howard) is a low-level pimp and drug dealer who scraped together a living in the ghettos of Memphis, TN. Djay isn't happy with his life, and the realization that he's reached the same age when his father unexpectedly died has made him start thinking about changing his ways. Djay has always had a gift for spinning stories, and after picking up a cheap keyboard, he begins picking out beats to go along with his rhymes. After bumping into an old high-school buddy who works in gospel music, Key (Anthony Anderson), Djay decided to take the plunge and remake himself as a rapper.

Monson's Review:

I knew by the title that this movie was going to suck. Then I took a look at the DVD cover and was even more certain that I wasn't going to like the movie. Sure, I had a bad attitude going into this movie, but I really did try to enjoy it... or at the very least respect it. Still, I couldn't help but hate it. This was one of the few English speaking films we have watched recently, yet we still had to turn on subtitles because we couldn't understand anything that was being said. The main character in this movie was following his dream of becoming a successful rap artist (terrible plot to begin with). I wanted so badly for this guy to make it big in the music industry. This wasn't because the film drew me in, but rather because if he became a success the movie would end. There was so much in this film that just wasn't believable under the circumstances. I didn't see much creativity in it, either. It was like a pathetic rip off of 8 Mile... and I didn't even like that movie. This film seemed to be trying so hard to make us feel something while watching it, yet it never made me feel anything aside from the uncomfortable cushion I was lying on. I could go into detail about all the things in this movie that I didn't like, but that would just be a long and tedious list, and this review is already plenty long enough. I'll be generous and give this 1/5.

Matthew's Review: I had high hopes for this film, because I thoroughly enjoyed Craig Brewer's more recent film, Black Snake Moan. However, I don't like Gangsta rap nearly as much as Blues music, so that did influence my taste for this film some. I thought that this film would grow an appreciation within me for this sort of rap, but it didn't really. While it did seem to appeal to my sense of "Punk Rock" (making true, compromised music for the purpose of being heard with whatever skill or resources available), I sometimes felt that the messages being produced were not worth being heard. I could be mislead, (and hopefully someone can educate me) but it seems that this is a style of music that goes the opposite direction from desiring to speak honestly from the soul. It seems to be all about putting on appearances. That is my opinion on the music. I must commend Craig Brewer for trying to show some honest people within this setting. The characters do show some real feelings, struggles, dreams, and love in the midst of a difficult world. I did "feel" for some of these characters occasionally, and that is worth something.
I give this film a 1.7/5

Monson & Yeomans Rating: 2.7/10