Local director and writer Craig Brewer has finally found a way for Hollywood to take notice of the undeniable movie-making potential Memphis possesses with his recent hit, “Hustle & Flow.”
Strolling into the theater I wondered how this film would portray Memphis and if my money would be well spent. And of course, I tried to open my mind up past the negative rumors that Brewer had found the worst way to represent the city.
Then as the film began, I found myself excited just to recognize the shops located on Summer Avenue. Surprisingly, my initial excitement and pride of the city didn’t vanish when DJay (Terrence Dashon Howard) came on the screen discussing the metaphor between mankind and dogs. I was instantly intrigued.
Brewer even handled the necessary scenes of DJay pimping and dealing drugs with taste. As a viewer, I sympathized with Djay’s lifestyle and saw it as the way he made ends meet.
Through DJay’s encounters with Nola (Taryn Manning), Shug (Taraji P. Henson) and Lexus (Paula Jai Parker), the women who live in his house, I learn his character is suffering from a mid-life crisis and he wants to achieve more in life.
However, I never understood where DJay’s rapper dreams truly came from. It seemed too sudden.
After meeting an old friend, Clyde, a.k.a. Key (Anthony Anderson), who happens to be a sound engineer, DJay hits the ground running to become a success. Conveniently, in comes Shelby (DJ Qualls), the beat machine whiz and friend of Key, who further helps DJay with his music.
Much like DJay’s rapper dreams just appearing out of nowhere, these scenes of DJay setting up his house to make music and meeting Key and Shelby seem way too easy.
Along with the dramatics of the film, Brewer found clever ways to incorporate humor into the film.
For example, Brewer wittingly highlights the differences within various parts of town as Nola and Yvette (Elisa Neal), Clyde’s wife, discuss hairstyles and she informs Nola she gets her hair done in Germantown. Or when Clyde staples drink holders onto DJay’s walls to absorb sound. And of course, Shelby is the comic relief as the skinny white guy who is obviously out of his element.
The film, for me, was superb until DJay’s encounter with Skinny Black (Ludacris), a former local rapper who made it big and has come back for a party. DJay worked all movie long to get a demo ready for Skinny Black to listen to and, of course, things go astray once they meet.
While the ending was a little weaker than I expected, Brewer did a fine job with the plotline.
If “Hustle & Flow” had to be described in one word, it would be original. The dialogue alone is unlike anything else in theaters now. DJay’s character talks of life and uses elaborate metaphors to tell his stories.
And while some of the parts of Memphis that made it onto the silver screen weren’t the best parts of town, they helped push the story and made DJay’s environment realistic.
If anything, Brewer took a negative aspect of Memphis (of anywhere really) and transformed it into a positive, by giving his characters hope for something better.
The city is a hit with Brewer, who will film his next movie, “Black Snake Moan,” in Memphis over the next few months. The movie stars Samuel L. Jackson, Justin Timberlake and Christina Ricci.
