The Post reported a cattle village in Sudan had over 150 words to describe the bovine. As the big attraction in that region of the East African country, the topic the topic dominates conversation. In Alaska there are hundreds of words for snow
Lately, in this tiny city on the east coast of the United States, the heat wave has inspired a new vocabulary to describe the wretched combination of heat from the sun and humidity from the swamp (or the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, put nicely).
Muggy, clammy, "chewy" (when you describe air as something that you can chew, the mix of heat and humid is simply out of proportion. Retreat inside to a frigid movie theatre).
Which I did with my dude to see "Hustle and Flow," the story of a low-budget pimp's journey toward realizing a long-held dream of being a rapper. The storyline didn't turn me on, either. In fact, the ballot was cast against it the moment I read "pimp" as a character. I mean, really, enough with the pimp sh*t, juice, and whatnot. Dudes, claim some other identity, like employed.
Rantings aside, critics more intrepid than raved about Terrence Howard, the aforementioned pimp, and his powerful delivery. Commended him for humanizing a "pimp," the sleaziest of the sleaze, and demonstrating real talent. Huh. Terrence Howard, the other guy from "The Brothers," the crazy boyfriend in "Lackawanna Blues," and a few other things. Being a sucka for a great actor not named Denzel, Samuel (who has had more than a few questionable flicks), or Taye, I put my moral aside and saw the film.
True to reviews, the film succeeds in growing the pimp, DJay. His initial frame of mind is clear--he's a pimp, small time drug dealer trying to keep himself fed and housed in low-ride North Memphis. The reappearance of a high school friend jarrs his memory of what he could have been, and then sets out to be more than a pimp. Interesting plot.
The problem is that the scenes never live up to their potential. The regional dialogue keeps my uninitiated ear listening for phrases to drop when I perpetrate like I know something more about Memphis than BBQ. Visually, the film is a tour of run-down Memphis. But the scenes do not accomplish the emotion I anticipated. Characters may begin important conversations--the meaning of being a pimp or prostitute--but do not carr the dialogue through its natural conclusion, or offer intruiging responses. A few scenes are outrightly gratuitous, and after a while I never wanted to hear the words "trick" "ho" or B*tch" again. .
Even with its success as a character piece, the film could improve by exploring or explaining how DJay came to manage and staff his operation. How did he get hooked up with a womanlike Shug? What does he love about her? Why does she love him? For me to feel sympathetic toward a vile individual, especially a pimp, I need to understand his circumstances beyond the "Daddy left me" scenario.
Finally, Taryn Manning rocked as the dilly backwater prostitute. In many scenes, she effortlessly nabbed the humor or seriousness from the leads with a nook, nod, saunter or question. Where DJay fell off, her appearances kept the movie interesting.
This film is one that's perfect for a Friday night stroll through the aisles at Blobckbuster, the visit when you're looking for something you heard was kinda good, and you remember it looked interesting. Seek out "Hustle and Flow."
Lately, in this tiny city on the east coast of the United States, the heat wave has inspired a new vocabulary to describe the wretched combination of heat from the sun and humidity from the swamp (or the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, put nicely).
Muggy, clammy, "chewy" (when you describe air as something that you can chew, the mix of heat and humid is simply out of proportion. Retreat inside to a frigid movie theatre).
Which I did with my dude to see "Hustle and Flow," the story of a low-budget pimp's journey toward realizing a long-held dream of being a rapper. The storyline didn't turn me on, either. In fact, the ballot was cast against it the moment I read "pimp" as a character. I mean, really, enough with the pimp sh*t, juice, and whatnot. Dudes, claim some other identity, like employed.
Rantings aside, critics more intrepid than raved about Terrence Howard, the aforementioned pimp, and his powerful delivery. Commended him for humanizing a "pimp," the sleaziest of the sleaze, and demonstrating real talent. Huh. Terrence Howard, the other guy from "The Brothers," the crazy boyfriend in "Lackawanna Blues," and a few other things. Being a sucka for a great actor not named Denzel, Samuel (who has had more than a few questionable flicks), or Taye, I put my moral aside and saw the film.
True to reviews, the film succeeds in growing the pimp, DJay. His initial frame of mind is clear--he's a pimp, small time drug dealer trying to keep himself fed and housed in low-ride North Memphis. The reappearance of a high school friend jarrs his memory of what he could have been, and then sets out to be more than a pimp. Interesting plot.
The problem is that the scenes never live up to their potential. The regional dialogue keeps my uninitiated ear listening for phrases to drop when I perpetrate like I know something more about Memphis than BBQ. Visually, the film is a tour of run-down Memphis. But the scenes do not accomplish the emotion I anticipated. Characters may begin important conversations--the meaning of being a pimp or prostitute--but do not carr the dialogue through its natural conclusion, or offer intruiging responses. A few scenes are outrightly gratuitous, and after a while I never wanted to hear the words "trick" "ho" or B*tch" again. .
Even with its success as a character piece, the film could improve by exploring or explaining how DJay came to manage and staff his operation. How did he get hooked up with a womanlike Shug? What does he love about her? Why does she love him? For me to feel sympathetic toward a vile individual, especially a pimp, I need to understand his circumstances beyond the "Daddy left me" scenario.
Finally, Taryn Manning rocked as the dilly backwater prostitute. In many scenes, she effortlessly nabbed the humor or seriousness from the leads with a nook, nod, saunter or question. Where DJay fell off, her appearances kept the movie interesting.
This film is one that's perfect for a Friday night stroll through the aisles at Blobckbuster, the visit when you're looking for something you heard was kinda good, and you remember it looked interesting. Seek out "Hustle and Flow."
posted by Rhonda Henderson at 2:05 AM
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