Masterful Movie

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

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

Spoilers Im rating this movie a 3, but that being said, i have the DVD and i never change it when its on TV. I find the TV version even funnier than the uncensored. First about me, im a 25-30 year old White male that was not brought up with a difficult life. I say this cause I've read some other reviews that talk about how pin point this movie is. I hope to god they are wrong, there is not a level head in this movie. And none of the African Americans i am friends with, have ever acted anything like this.Jody (our main character) tries to act gangster, but clearly is soft. The movie gave me the feeling that if his friend "P" was not around, he probably would have a better life. But he looks up to his friend, who spews lines that are border line retarded, and Jody takes them like gospel. Jody treats his girlfriend/ baby momma (played by Taraji Henson) like crap. I am troubled by her acting in this movie, not sure if its lack of guidance from the director, or just her inexperience at the time. But later in her career she proves to be a great actress, just not here. "P" played by Omar Gooding, is an apple that was thrown from the tree. He needs to go back to Nickelodeon, and leave the grown up roles to his cousin, Cuba. Ving Rhames actually acts fine, just has a poorly written role. Now the reason i love this movie; Certain scenes, are so over the top, they are awesome. Jody, at one point gets punkd and beat up for his bike, by a bunch of school kids. Instead of manning up, he gets his friend "P" and gun, and make the kids stand there and take a beating at gunpoint. Which ends up with "P" spanking one like its his own child. Every scene with snoop dog has great one liners. And all these one liners are even better on the TV version, because the N Bomb gets substituted with "chicken". Towards the end of the movie, Snoop rolls up on Jody in a drive by, and once again Jody hits the fetal position, instead of fighting back. And cries cause he thought he was shot, but wasn't even close. There are many more scenes like these, but you need to just watch it. In summary, i rate this movie a three, but i love watching it. From an actual critical stand point, John Singleton should be embarrassed for this representation of Americans. best quote; snoop "I hate you too lil chicken"

I felt BABY BOY exposed and condemned certain stereotypes, not just merely perpetuated them. The film isn't a typical 2-hour disposable entertainment that's packed with cliché. It's a thoughtful drama that asks everyone watching which character they most closely resemble. "Which jerk are you most like?" It's the story of a self-described "man" REALIZING he's actually an immature boy in a man's body. Know anyone like that? Male? Female? I'm the whitest white guy you'll ever meet, and BABY BOY is one of the few "black films" that didn't insult me by perpetuating black (or merely human)stereotypes in an IRRESPONSIBLE way. In the black characters, I saw countless white people I have had the displeasure of knowing (and a few I resemble myself). It's not about BLACK or WHITE. It's about JACKASSES in any color, gender, shape or size. Pay attention. Leap over that color barrier. Hated SHAFT, though! Ugh.

As a white person who doesn't live in 'the hood', I have a hard time identifying with the characters in this movie.Still, it was worth seeing for some very good performances. Ving Rhames as Jody's mother's boyfriend, Tyrese as Jody, Taraji Henson as Jody's girlfriend Yvette, A. J. Johnson as Jody's mother. Cuba Gooding's brother Omar is as talented as his brother. Even Snoop Dogg did a capable job as Yvette's former boyfriend. He couldn't compare with the fine performers around him, but he does have the potential for a career outside the rap world.I was amazed at how gentle Jody was with Yvette. The stereotype is for someone like him to be abusive, but he only came close when really pushed, and most of us would not be that patient. The writers didn't rely on easy solutions to problems, and people worked things out by making an effort.The nightmares and fantasies got annoying for me, and I believe the actors themselves did not know how the movie would end because all these different scenes were filmed. Still, it was well done overall.I'm so glad I saw a cleaned-up version, but the film was still quite potent. It's certainly not for kids.