Oscar Rush, part 1: Hustle & Flow

Oh my God! The Oscars are two days away! I still haven't seen every single movie nominated! The Hollywood gods (and by "gods," I mean "lawyers") are going to swoop into my room in the middle of the night, force my eyes open with toothpicks and watch 23 movies straight with no breaks! I! Must! Catch! Up!

.........whew.......OK.......must.....calm...down...

I don't really feel like that, but there have been a bunch of movies that I've been wanting to see that have been released on DVD recently, many of which just happen to be nominated for Oscars. So, before I got around to Cinderella Man, Pride & Prejudice, and The Constant Gardener, I decided to start with Hustle & Flow.

To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of rap. Even when there's a really good beat, a strong melodic hook, or clever lyrics, it's just way too repetitive to sustain my ADD-shrunk interest ("Sugar" by Trick Daddy being a recent exception).

Now that I've seen Hustle & Flow, I can't say I'm going to listen to it all the time, but I can appreciate it on a deeper level than I could before. Sure, it's hard to over-emphasize how misogynistic and homophobic rap can be, but, in the absence of those offenses, it can be so much more.

When the movie lets us inside the creative process for DJay (Best Actor Oscar nominee Terrence Howard), a pimp struggling to rise above his circumstances, I was reminded of claims that rappers are our modern day poets. I agreed before but even more so now. Djay is able to express who he is as a person (although occasionally victim to the empty macho bravado of so much modern rap) while encompassing everything from his immediate community to the current national climate in his scope. It's not just that "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" (the Oscar-nominated song), it's why.

The movie has a lot to show us about artists and the creative process of art. It shows how important a creative community is and how different genres are used for inspiration (like gospel in rap). It also asks the eternal question: how far are you willing to go for your art? What degradations and humiliations are you willing to put yourself through to get what you want?

All this makes it that much more frustrating when Djay falls into the usual pimp stereotypes, especially treating his whores like, well, whores. If he wants people to look past his day-time job to see him as a person, why can't he do the same for the ladies who financially support him? After he tries to pump up Nola's (Taryn Manning) self-esteem, he sells her "services" to a shop owner in exchange for a microphone without thinking twice. The only one he's decent to, Shug (Taraji P. Henson), happens to be pregnant (although with a mysterious trick's baby).

Like A History of Violence, Hustle also deals with the conflict and consequences of male violence - the distinction between a man's violent environment and the violent tendencies within himself. So, to balance the hero's violence and misogyny, the writers turn it into a hip-hop Pretty Woman: he might be good at what he does, but it's important to know he doesn't really want to do it. He has higher standards for himself, he wants something better.

Luckily, we have Terrence Howard as our guide through the gritty, hopeless streets of Memphis. Charismatic, sexy, vulnerable, dangerous - I truly believe that with his classic good looks and wavy hair, you could put him in a tuxedo and confuse him for a movie star from the 1930's. 2005 has been declared his breakthrough year and I can see why. From a conflicted yuppie in Crash to the tough, wily Djay in Hustle, his versatility is truly impressive. And when he passionately kisses the pregnant, supportive Shrug, I thought, damn, get that man a romantic leading role. Hopefully, Hollwood will find equally worthwhile projects for him.