Baby Boy (2001)

Too much of everything

Absolutely brilliant

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Baby Boy (2001): Dir: John Singleton / Cast: Tyrese Gibson, Omar Gooding Jr., Ving Rhames, Snoop Dogg, Adrienne-Joi Johnson: Inspiring film about growing up with Tyrese Gibson as a twenty year old who lives at home but he is a father himself of two children by different women. He drives his girlfriend home from the abortion clinic then he borrows her car to go visit other women. To make money he resorts to selling stolen female clothing. His sister is involved with an ex con who is trying to go straight. Outside the house Gibson is involved in gang wars with his best friend. His girlfriend's ex-boyfriend is getting out of prison and decides to move in with her. The conclusion is violent and somewhat corrupt but director John Singleton who is famous for Boyz N the Hood establishes interesting visual moments. Gibson is superb as a young man pretending to grip reality rather than face adulthood even though some decisions were extremely unwise. Omar Gooding Jr. as his best friend is into gang wars and finalizing one of Gibson's personal wars. Snoop Dogg makes a good impression as a criminal who forces his way and meets consequences. Ving Rhames is compelling as an ex-con building for acceptance. Adrienne-Joi Johnson plays Gibson's mother who urges him to grow up. Theme addresses women involved with men who aren't emotionally ready to commit. Score: 9 / 10

Jody is a unemployed immature young man who isn't committed to anything or anyone but himself. He has two children out of wedlock he does not financially support. He leeches off his mother living at home. He tries to act like a gangster in the streets. That act does not fool anyone in his neighborhood. He's thought of as soft. His mother takes up with a veteran gangster called Mel. Jody feels left out as Mel becomes the man of the house. Mel tries to school Jody on how to be a real man. Jody doesn't take the lesson. Mel and Jody have a fight. It's like when a older stronger lion chases a weaker younger out the pride to fend for themselves. Jody is out on his own.He shacks up with one of his kids moms. She has some kind of relationship with a hard core gangster that beens in prison called Rodney. When Rodney comes home he causes problems for Jody. It's time for Jody to be a man and face this hard core gangster. Jody unable to kill him only wounds him, but it sends a strong enough message he will protect his own. Shook up and scared he turns to Mel who without words understands what Jody is going through. Mel uses his street mentality to put Jody back together and calm him. The two share a bond now. Jody leaves his mother's house to become a man on his own with one of his mother's children. The one he loves.Tyrese Gibson was stellar as Jody. Great performance. As a viewer I got caught up in his story because I thought he was an immature punk at times and felt sorry for him other times when Mel and Rodney backed him down. Ving Rhames gave a powerful showing as Mel. When he has Jody in a headlock letting him know what he would do to a weak man in prison was real to the bone. Ving Rhames commands every part he is in. Snoop Dogg was low down dirty Rodney. Snoop Dogg's best acting I've seen. He owned that part. He played the bad guy to perfection.John Singleton's best movie. Much better than Boyz n the Hood. More real and powerful with heart. I expected Mel was going to have to deal with Rodney. Singleton did not go that route and out smarted this viewer.

Part semi-serious Gangster movie, part domestic life in the hood, I found it pretty entertaining. Vang and Snoop, with their borderline psychopathic personalities, round out the movie nicely. There are also some great comedic moments. For example one young gangster wanna-be hood rat needs to answer for his disrespect, but shows "heart" so he's told he won't be punched in the face. Instead he immediately gets belt whipped and screams like, well like a kid getting whipped with a belt. Little nuggets like this made me bust out laughing. (The best kind of comedy is funny because it is, not because it's pointed out to you that it's supposed to be funny.) A little more tame than "Menace II Society" it has the same quirky feel with moments that just ring true.

OK. i respect Singleton's work in Boyz in the Hood and Poetic Justice.i was greatly disappointed with Baby Boy. i think we could start with the terribly racist and sexist roles represented by the main actors. some might applaud the work for showing "the way things are" but every perspective has a bias. his perspective is mirrored by racist and sexist thinking from the Moynihan report in the 60s suggesting that black males are children, and should be sent to war. his film echoes sexist sentiments that black women are the cause of black men's plight.the film did not challenge racism or white supremacy at any level, in fact conversely it coaxed the men to live up to the "American dream" of individualism. it just showed a few idiots trying to gain ground without a cent of integrity, strategy, or intelligence. it fed into stereotypes of black men and women as sexually overactive and temperamental. surrounding that theme was an animal-like, consumerist, macho-ism that speaks to black men as irrational, hormone-driven, dangerous and brutish. i must say the worst scene was the "rape" incident. for one thing this girl played the nagging role, another stereotype for black women, who actually never communicated with her partner. they yelled and had sex, but that was about it. why can't there be a movie where black people actually have a real conversation and understand one another instead of a dog-eat-dog fight? the longest conversation they had was about who had sex who when. which reminds me, the worst scene was when Jody hits his girlfriend, and then goes down on her. what was that about? mixing domestic violence with sex glamorizes and condones it. the girlfriend did not defend herself against her rapist. in fact she only cared about her child watching,not her own safety. instead of kicking him out, she complains to Jody in an effort to induce pity in him. bad acting, and a weak acting role combined.i don't believe that this portrays urban youth culture. the most pressing decision of these young people's lives was to find out who to have sex with, and if the person they cared about was cheating on them. it also portrays people driven by base desires who live within a fantasy exemplary in the neighborhood without cops, garbage in the streets, druggies or prostitutes, only and fresh lawns with plush green grass, and gardens. i think Singleton can do better.