Hustle & Flow
Paramount Classics | Release Date: July 22, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
30
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
The writing, acting and filmmaking make Hustle & Flow nothing short of amazing. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen 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
90
Washington PostAnn 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
90
SalonStephanie 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
88
New York Daily NewsJami 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
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Every good actor has a season when he comes into his own, and this is Terrence Howard's time. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill 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
80
Film ThreatMichael 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
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Unfolds in the satisfying fashion of classic Hollywood movies that strike a balance between grit and heart. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe 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.
80
EmpireColin Kennedy
As soon as Howard steps up to the mic, the movie crackles to life. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
It's a winning formula, and when done right like it is here, it transcends the clichés and moves audiences. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames 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
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Explosive entertainment. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
Brewer achieves near perfection in this tense, intimate meeting between two lifelong hustlers. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
It's a satisfying experience, whatever kind of picture you label it. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven 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
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The best thing Hustle & Flow has going for it is Terrence Howard's powerful performance. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
In Hustle & Flow, a star is born playing a star who's born. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene 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
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
So much love went into Hustle & Flow that it almost glows with it. Read full review
75
PremierePeter 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
70
The New YorkerDavid 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
70
VarietyTodd 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
70
The A.V. ClubScott 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
70
Washington PostDesson 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
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland 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
70
Chicago ReaderJoshua Katzman
Despite occasional patches of hokey dialogue, this drama by writer-director Craig Brewer is solid and genuinely uplifting. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
Hustle & Flow promises gritty street drama but delivers "Pretty Woman" with crunk instead of Roxette. Read full review
63
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
50
NewsweekDavid Ansen
Howard redeems this lumpy fantasy. Soft-spoken and mysterious, he presides over the movie with a dangerous, feline grace. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDana 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
50
Boston GlobeWesley 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
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
Howard might be a major actor. His DJay, though, is a major character in search of a major author. Read full review
40
Village VoiceLaura 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
40
Dallas ObserverLuke 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
40
L.A. WeeklyScott 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
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