Is it too much to ask that A.O. Scott start dressing thematically for his Movie Minute video segments? Eh, probably. But that did stop the cinetrix from nurturing the tender hope that Tony would be all pimped out when I clicked on the link for his Hustle & Flow review? Nope. Sadly, there was nary a feather nor a stacked heel in sight. Not even a hat.
Before you write this off as a Friday flight of fancy, consider his review, which suggests a more than passing familiarity with turning out bitches, or perhaps just an extensive and previously unsuspected hip-hop collection:
- The pimp's mode is the hustle, a smooth, manipulative patter designed to separate johns from their money and keep hookers in line.
- But as every old-school hip-hop fan knows, pimping ain't easy. It sure is fascinating, though, to rappers and to filmmakers, both black (like the Hughes brothers, who made the wide-eyed documentary "American Pimp") and white (like Mr. Brewer).
- "It's hard out here for a pimp," goes the chorus to one of his songs (sung by the honey-voiced Shug), updating a point first made by Big Daddy Kane and noting that one of the problems facing a man in this business is "a lot of bitches jumping ship."
- A pimp might be forgiven for failing to see his own misogyny - pimping is not a profession usually associated with feminism - but the movie can't just slide off the hook along with its hero.
- 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.
Anyone else having a hard time shaking the image of ol' [A.]O.G. Scott practicing his flow to some classic gangsta shit in his car [or on his iPod] a la Michael Bolton in Office Space? Perhaps we should refer to him as the Bishop Don Magic Tony from now on.