Post by StevePulaski on Jun 13, 2011 22:30:41 GMT -5
Rating: ★★★½
John Singleton concludes what he calls his "Hood trilogy" with his 2001 installment Baby Boy. It centers around an immature, twenty year old black man nicknamed Jody (Gibson) who lives with his mom and his fathering two young kids from separate women. His mom gets a new boyfriend named Melvin (Rhames) who is what Jody calls "a thug," much to his dismay. More things in Jody's life including friendships, relationships, and family begin to crumble throughout the film when Jody realizes he must grow up.
Singleton has successfully made a brutally honest, cut throat, and raw look at the real hood. Not the glorified, Imma-shoot-me-a-thug-and-get-me-a-bitch-cause-this-the-good-life hood. It's almost a documentary style look at what a black area looks like. It goes beyond the stereotypes, and treats these people like real human beings, what they are, not what they are assumed to be.
Some blacks do bad, but some try to do right is why I picked up from Baby Boy. Here we have a mama's boy who needs to let his mom live her own life and let himself live his own. It sounds a lot easier than it is. His mom has been in an abusive relationship before, and now Jody does what anyone in his position would, be worried and overprotective.
The trailer for Baby Boy suggests that it has a strong comedic side. That it doesn't. It has some brave wit in a few scenes with mild humor popping up, other than that, it's a strange forward piece of drama. There is nothing funny about that plot and it shouldn't have been marketed like "a lot of fun."
The casting, like in Singleton's previous works, is spot on and worthwhile. We get Tyrese Gibson giving his macho, but softie image. Snoop Dogg, who on the cover appears as Gibson's friend in the film, is far from it probably sporting the toughest and strongest image of mean he's most likely ever done. Rhames' role as the out-of-prison thug is very well captured and powerful just like anticipated. And the rest of the cast supports the leads well and efficient.
Baby Boy manages to mix itself in with other hood comedies and concert documentaries on the Black Entertainment Network (BET) most likely to show that there is a reality to everyone's dreams. BET most likely shows the film not only because it is urban inspired, but because it is real. It shouldn't be only aired on the black network, but regular movie networks regularily. Blacks aren't the only people who father babies and live at home in an uninspired way feeding off of their moms. People of all races most likely do it too. The film just focuses around a black family.
Ten years old, but still recognized as an effective drama, Baby Boy is a wakeup call to anyone practicing similar behavior. It's time to step up, be a man, and grow up. Life isn't a free ride. Working is hard, but gang life is no way to patch it. It sounds cliche, but like everything shown in Baby Boy, it's the harsh truth.
Starring: Tyrese Gibson, Omar Gooding, Ving Rhames, Taraji P. Henson, A.J. Johnson, and Snoop Dogg. Directed by: John Singleton.
John Singleton concludes what he calls his "Hood trilogy" with his 2001 installment Baby Boy. It centers around an immature, twenty year old black man nicknamed Jody (Gibson) who lives with his mom and his fathering two young kids from separate women. His mom gets a new boyfriend named Melvin (Rhames) who is what Jody calls "a thug," much to his dismay. More things in Jody's life including friendships, relationships, and family begin to crumble throughout the film when Jody realizes he must grow up.
Singleton has successfully made a brutally honest, cut throat, and raw look at the real hood. Not the glorified, Imma-shoot-me-a-thug-and-get-me-a-bitch-cause-this-the-good-life hood. It's almost a documentary style look at what a black area looks like. It goes beyond the stereotypes, and treats these people like real human beings, what they are, not what they are assumed to be.
Some blacks do bad, but some try to do right is why I picked up from Baby Boy. Here we have a mama's boy who needs to let his mom live her own life and let himself live his own. It sounds a lot easier than it is. His mom has been in an abusive relationship before, and now Jody does what anyone in his position would, be worried and overprotective.
The trailer for Baby Boy suggests that it has a strong comedic side. That it doesn't. It has some brave wit in a few scenes with mild humor popping up, other than that, it's a strange forward piece of drama. There is nothing funny about that plot and it shouldn't have been marketed like "a lot of fun."
The casting, like in Singleton's previous works, is spot on and worthwhile. We get Tyrese Gibson giving his macho, but softie image. Snoop Dogg, who on the cover appears as Gibson's friend in the film, is far from it probably sporting the toughest and strongest image of mean he's most likely ever done. Rhames' role as the out-of-prison thug is very well captured and powerful just like anticipated. And the rest of the cast supports the leads well and efficient.
Baby Boy manages to mix itself in with other hood comedies and concert documentaries on the Black Entertainment Network (BET) most likely to show that there is a reality to everyone's dreams. BET most likely shows the film not only because it is urban inspired, but because it is real. It shouldn't be only aired on the black network, but regular movie networks regularily. Blacks aren't the only people who father babies and live at home in an uninspired way feeding off of their moms. People of all races most likely do it too. The film just focuses around a black family.
Ten years old, but still recognized as an effective drama, Baby Boy is a wakeup call to anyone practicing similar behavior. It's time to step up, be a man, and grow up. Life isn't a free ride. Working is hard, but gang life is no way to patch it. It sounds cliche, but like everything shown in Baby Boy, it's the harsh truth.
Starring: Tyrese Gibson, Omar Gooding, Ving Rhames, Taraji P. Henson, A.J. Johnson, and Snoop Dogg. Directed by: John Singleton.