Released: 7/22/05

Viewed: 12:15:pm 8/18/05

Starring: Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, DJ Qualls, Ludacris, Taraji P. Henson, Taryn Manning

Directed by: Craig Brewer

Terrence Howard. That's all you need to know. He got attached to Hustle and Flow early, fought hard in the battle to get it made, and it paid off. Because he didn't drop the ball. Funding was found. Big name support (John Singleton) believed in it and made it happened. And when it came time to play ? Terrence Howard brought everything he had and gave a performance that won't soon be forgotten. In the process he gave life to a real pimp like we never could have imagined. No stereotypes, no clich?s. Just a man that took the wrong path and has finally realized it.

The story switches gears to the message of following your dreams and doing whatever it takes to make those dreams a reality. WHATEVER it takes. It's real and unapologetic, but not as gritty as you would expect. You're on pins and needles waiting for him to bitch slap one of his hoes. But they never really go there. Drug use is implied, but never really abusively. See, I've been wondering if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

The movie is extremely entertaining but is still missing some serious tension. Sure, there's plenty of drama. The characters have their problems to overcome, but at no point in the set up of the film do you feel like overcoming these problems is unrealistic. You watch them struggling, but the obstacles aren't HUGE. You walk in expecting drug abuse and gang wars, but what you get is a crying baby and an uppity ho.

At one point they're ready to record but a neighbor is blasting music. Howard's character D-Jay goes over to confront him. Quickly you find out there is a bad history between them. It's tense. You start to expect the worst. He gives him a bag of weed and asks him nicely to turn it down. And he does. ? Am I missing something?

So here's my conflict: what happened in the movie is what would most likely actually happen in real life. People that do drugs aren't always addicted to drugs. People that break laws aren't necessarily ignorant and worthless. But would it have made the movie better if he went over to this guys house and beat him up? It may have had an impact on me, but I'm realizing that the way it was handled was a real brave way to go. To depict the world as it is, is risky, because real life is boring, but in the long run it really fits with this movie.

Still it never gets under your skin the way you would like. You don't worry as much? until the last 35 minutes. At the climax of the movie the unexpected. Actually looking back it's not as unexpected as I originally though. It's realistic. I don't want to go into spoilers, because it's a pretty decent sequence. But what goes down is very believable and at that moment is when you will feel the most connected to the movie.

To say though, that this movie is extremely entertaining is a surprised. I mean, I expected to like it. The buzz was too strong, but if you analyze the movie then you see that not much happens. And for a movie this long, to be this entertaining from start to finish, is a true testament to the talent behind it. To do so much with nothing is pretty damn cool.

The most disturbingly real moment of the movie has nothing to do with hooking or a dirty underground music scene. It's easily the nasty-ass strip club. Big respect to the woman that made the clapping sound with just her ass? but overall ? ew.

Great performances throughout. And huge props to the producers that allowed this movie to get made when the biggest names on the list were Anthony Anderson and DJ Qualls. I love them both, and they both have great turns here, but neither is A list. Neither is seat filler. Even though I did see King's Ransom and The New Guy in the theater. I have to mention Taryn Manning who I'm not a big fan of. I'm not sure why. She did this show Get Real where I thought she was really cute, but then she lost the appeal. Did she go out with Eminem? Why an I thinking that? Anyway, she won me over here. Even though her hair was crazy and her accent was ?well, I'm sure it was authentic, but it was not appealing. It's like ? you know how Holly Hunter has that real sexy southern accent? Well it's nothing like that. But she's got a couple of scenes here where she really breaks it down and gets you on her side. By the end of the movie you're definitely routing for this aimless hooker with a heart of gold.

My favorite performances were Manning's, seriously he shows up and just takes control, and Taraji P. Henson who plays one of D-Jay's ladies. Her performance is so soft and delicate. You get the feeling she could shatter at any second. That kind of vulnerability can't be easy to do. The reason I'm singling these two out is because I recently saw both in Singleton's Four Brother's where they played COMPLETELY different people. It's the benefit of seeing both films within a week of each other, but it gave me chance to really see the range. Howard has hit and will be a big player in the next couple years. Henson is on the brink, and if Hustle and Flow gets her the supporting Oscar nod she deserves, then she could be the next Halley Berry.

They could have cast Ja Rule and Ashanti in the lead roles and got this thing made in two second. Probably would have made a ton of cash too. But it would have sucked so hard.

I've gone on and on about the acting, but for me, at least in this case, that was the driving force of the movie. It's a great story, and great film making, but spectacular acting.

8 out of 10 It's a powerful message of inspiration. You can do it, no matter what. If this rag tag group can, anyone can. It's plain and simple great filmmaking. Looks like it did a decent box office too. Hopefully it will find an even bigger home on DVD.

DVD worthy?: Well as much as I would love for people to see this movie, I wouldn't buy it. But more because it's not the type of movie you want to watch everyday. I would like to see it again, but it's the sort of thing where, I'll rent it when it comes out, and that'll be the end of it. Until I get that craving a couple of years later.

Trailer Hitch: Get Rich or Die Tryin'

That's right. The new movie staring 50 cent! I was surprised. It actually looks halfway decent. Sort of like 8 mile except with guns and perfectly shaped mustaches. Can 50 act? To soon to tell, but I'll be there to check it out. Why not, right? To see JLCM's official ho, simply cast your vote. and don't forget to check out my LiveJournal to see some of the badass JLCM feedback as well as my endless ranting about the comics, and everyday life. And I'll mention again The web comic list which is a cool site that caters to the fans. It's a nice set up and JLCM hasn't found its niche there yet. I'm curious if it can. If not - it's cool. But if you use the List, and like JLCM? let's make magic, baby.