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Hustle & Flow
EMAILPRINTMTV Films / Paramount Classics

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 37 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 57 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama | Musical
Written by: Craig Brewer
Directed by: Craig Brewer
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 22, 2005
DVD: January 10, 2006
Running Time: 114 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for sex and drug content, pervasive language and some violence
Starring Terrence Dashon Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, Paula Jai Parker, Elise Neal, DJ Qualls, and Ludacris
The redemptive story of a streetwise Memphis hustler trying to find his voice and realize his long-buried dreams. (Paramount Classics / MTV Films)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Black Snake Moan
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
The writing, acting and filmmaking make Hustle & Flow nothing short of amazing.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
The home-studio recording sequences in Hustle & Flow are funky, rowdy, and indelible. Brewer gives us the pleasure of watching characters create music from the ground up.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
The performances are accomplished, but the real star of Hustle & Flow is Brewer, a playwright who has written and directed a few other movies but who is effectively making a breathtaking national debut here.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
In a world of movies that try far too hard to move, entertain and dazzle us, the artistry of Hustle & Flow lies in the way it waits for us to come to it. We can walk as slowly as we want, but sooner or later, it's going to get us.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
The feel-good movie of the summer. And the song this pimp works up, about how hard it is to manage a stable of ho's, is catchy and moving.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Every good actor has a season when he comes into his own, and this is Terrence Howard's time.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White
Speaks in the raw mumble of the dirty South. A regional film in the truest sense, it does for Memphis what its producer, John Singleton, once did for South Central Los Angeles.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
I found Hustle & Flow hard to get into at first, if only for its dialogue. But DJay's turf turns out to be everyone's turf -- a jagged landscape of hopes, disappointments, folly and fulfillment.
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Unfolds in the satisfying fashion of classic Hollywood movies that strike a balance between grit and heart.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Michael Dequina
While never sacrificing any of the hard-knock authenticity and specificity of his characters and their milieu, Brewer has crafted a deeply felt film.
Read Full Review >Empire Colin Kennedy
As soon as Howard steps up to the mic, the movie crackles to life.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
It's a winning formula, and when done right like it is here, it transcends the clichés and moves audiences.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
In Hustle & Flow, a star is born playing a star who's born.
Read Full Review >Premiere Peter Debruge
A definite crowd-pleaser, Hustle & Flow has all the makings of a massive cultural phenomenon - if only audiences can get past the whole pimp thing.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
So much love went into Hustle & Flow that it almost glows with it.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
What makes the picture sail past its flaws is its earnest understanding of the desperation that drives people to regain control of their lives -- and the profound courage required to attempt it.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
The best thing Hustle & Flow has going for it is Terrence Howard's powerful performance.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt
Brewer achieves near perfection in this tense, intimate meeting between two lifelong hustlers.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
It's a satisfying experience, whatever kind of picture you label it.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
A weird fusion of blaxploitation and American indie, built on a template of old-style, follow-your-dream Hollywood drama. But it works - sometimes magnificently.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
It celebrates art, hope, and dreams, and you don't have to like hip-hop to appreciate the message or the way in which it is delivered.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker David Denby
Ends with a burst of movie-ish mayhem, and then a burst of sentiment, but when Brewer, Howard, and Ludacris stick to the bitter texture of South Memphis failure and success they produce a modest regional portrait that could become a classic of its kind.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
Director Craig Brewer has given his second feature film a vibrant pulse amplified by an outstanding cast led by Terrence Howard.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
The vibrant rap drama Hustle & Flow wraps the authentic around the inauthentic, telling an underdog story that sticks to formula, yet resonates with an undeniably real energy and texture.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
It's more of an urban fairy tale, a surprisingly charming story that -- in certain sections -- almost crystallizes into the sweetness of a Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland musical.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Craig Brewer's sweaty, feel-good story about a small-time pimp and dope dealer making one last, desperate grab at his long-deferred dream is driven by longtime supporting player Terrence Howard's subtle, go-for-broke performance as Memphis mack Djay.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman
Despite occasional patches of hokey dialogue, this drama by writer-director Craig Brewer is solid and genuinely uplifting.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
Hustle & Flow promises gritty street drama but delivers "Pretty Woman" with crunk instead of Roxette.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) D.J. Considine
Fortunately, writer-director Craig Brewer manages to conjure a world so rich and believable that we barely notice the Hollywood predictability of the plot.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
Howard might be a major actor. His DJay, though, is a major character in search of a major author.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Some will find it chicly inspired, recalling blaxploitation's heyday with its grimy urban realism. Some will rightly find it corny, absurd, and an insultingly limited presentation of options for the most disenfranchised African-Americans: I'm still waiting for the movie fantasy about the pimp who wants to get his GED.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
This disdain for women is not incidental to the film; it is integral to the fantasy Mr. Brewer is selling, which is that pimping is not as hard as it looks.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
Howard redeems this lumpy fantasy. Soft-spoken and mysterious, he presides over the movie with a dangerous, feline grace.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Laura Sinagra
There's something wrong with Hustle. A bad aftertaste, and not just the dry grit of Memphis dust, but something meaner. A feeling that Brewer's sensibility is way off. Aside from Howard's characterization, the most indelible parts of the movie are the demeaning caricatures forced on DJay's women.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
Spends most of its 114 minutes on the making of a demo tape. People in a studio, rapping and recording. If you're going to watch that, wouldn't you prefer it to be Dr. Dre, or Lil Jon, or whoever, rather than actors pretending to be their kind?
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Scott Foundas
But while some may leave the theater tapping their toes and whistling the lyrics to such inimitable original ballads as "Hard for a Pimp" and "Whoop That Trick," they should hang their heads low and mourn the sorry state of the contemporary African-American movie.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 57 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
[Anonymous] gave it a9:
This movie looked... unwatchable to me until I watched it, then I realized what a knock your socks off kind of movie is.
Patrick M. gave it a10:
This movie gets better with repeated viewings. Not many movies you can say that about. Even though I heard some good things about it when it came out, I didn't see it because the subject matter didn't interest me. Trouble relating to the whole pimp and ho, hip-hop culture. Glad I caught it on cable, because this movie presents more of the universal human experience than 99% of the garbage out there. Far better than Crash, which is unwatchable a second time around. Great performances throughout...I'll be looking for more from Craig Brewer.
Jeff M. gave it an8:
Terrance Howard rocks, the music is great, and the film, if nothing else, manages to make you root for a pimp.
Amurabi M. gave it an8:
In the subgenre of artists raising in bad conditions ans fighting against adversity imn pursue of their dreams, "Hustle & Flow" is a gem for that kind of movies. Besides the intense Performance of Terrence Dashon Howard, The star of this film is His director. We are watching the troubles of an artist for follow his dreams, and, in this case, the mataphor includes the job of his maker. With a sense of blaxploitation perfectly elaborated, intense music and performances and the stunning job of Amelia Vincent behind the cameras, in "Hustle & Flow", you can feel inspired, excitedl, amazed and touched, all at the same time. For me, this is the best rap film ever made. Period.
Andrea S. gave it a10:
This movie is unreal. Captures the human spirit. I'm white, 43 and born in the south. I rented the movie because I am a Terrence Howard fan (and a closet Rap fan...old school, you know). This movie was so awesome that I purchased it and am now waiting on the Soundtrack from Amazon. I'm adding this to my collection (right beside Kid Rock). Not bad for an old broad!
Paul D. gave it an8:
Traditional "Let's put on a show" plot morphs into gritty, intense urban fantasy. Good performances, especially by Terence Howard as the pimp, turned hip hop artist.
Dan C. gave it a9:
Sometimes a performance elevates an otherwise unremarkable film to a higher level. Terrence Howard OWNS this film. He masters it. He channels the character with raw emotion, much as the character channels his own life into song. The supporting cast is good, and the story is serviceable, but it's the performance at the center that makes this not just a good movie, but a great one. I didn't care for the idea of a sympathetic pimp, nor am I a big fan of hip hop, and so I waited a long time to see it. Now I see why so many people consider it one of the best of the last year. See it now!
