Hustle and Flow In Theatres

Terrance Howard's plays DJay, a pimp who clearly is smarter than his chosen vocation. But he's no pimp with a heart of gold. He has a ferocious temper and sells drugs on the side. But he evolves into a sympathetic if ambiguous character when we see his decency and sense his conflicted state.

DJay has hit a critical point in his life. He can simply continue being a two-bit pimp (his beater car doesn't even have air conditioning), or he can go after his dream of being a rapper. Even though DJay is a well-rounded character, there is a formulaic quality to the ragtag group of musical associates he assembles: Anthony Anderson plays the henpecked husband of a woman who thinks he should reserve his talents for religious music, and DJ Qualls is the skinny white dude who wishes he were black.

Taraji P. Henson plays Shug, one of the ladies of the night who work for DJay, and her performance also is top-notch. Ludacris, who had a memorable role in Crash as well, has a key part as Skinny Black, a Memphis-born music star whom DJay hopes will provide his entrée into the world of hip-h