Not Approved

Hustle and Flow

In a harsh portrayal of the inner-city life of Memphis, DJay (Terrence Dashon Howard) is the pimp of three prostitutes trapped in a hopeless culture. He hopes to find fame and fortune as a rapper with the help of Key (Anthony Anderson), a sound engineer at a local church. With a limited budget to record music, DJay relies on the expertise of Key and the pot-smoking Shelby (DJ Qualls). He funds the project with the help of his women who turn tricks for him. When the tape is finally recorded, DJay orchestrates a meeting with platinum-selling rapper Skinny Black (Ludacris), who returns to the old neighborhood for a visit. The bridge at the meeting is built with DJay’s bag of marijuana. After a rocky start, the two connect in a smoke-filled room as DJay anticipates the prospect of making it big. But the meeting takes a turn for the worse, and his hope crashes into tragedy.
24
Negative Rating
12345
SexLanguageViolenceDrugsNudityOther
0
Positive Rating
12345
FaithIntegrity

Dove Review

Terrence Dashon Howard’s name will be even more commonly known after this film. He delivers an excellent performance, showing the harsh reality of surviving the street life. Combine that with his role in “Crash”, and it shouldn’t be long before Howard has roles developed specifically for him. This movie doesn’t only show one man’s perseverance in following his dream, but also the value of our everyday relationships.

Many people could benefit from watching this movie. However, to properly illustrate the tough life of Howard’s character, I understand why much of the explicit content is necessary. Both aspects of Howard’s character, his pimp life and his rapper life, reveal too much to be given a Dove approval. It is very interesting to see these “rags to riches” stories, such as in “8 Mile” and the upcoming movie, “Get Rich or Die Trying”, about rapper 50 Cent. Hopefully in the future, a movie such as this will be produced with the consideration of a family audience.

Dove Rating Details

0
Faith

None

0
Integrity

Man shot, scenes of gunfire, woman choked by man.

5
Sex

Main character's lifestyle as a pimp shown, some scenes in a strip club.

5
Language

114 F, 113 S, 20 A, 70 references to the N word, 35 B, 9 GD, 10 H, 8 D, b-stard, 4 slang terms for female genitalia, p-ss, Christ's Sake.

4
Violence

Man shot, scenes of gunfire, woman choked by man.

5
Drugs

Marijuana smoked, sold, and discussed. Alcohol consumed, main character smokes throughout entire film.

5
Nudity

Woman's breasts shown, many scenes with revealing clothing.

0
Other

None.

More Information