Baby Boy (2001)

This is not an uplifting film, nor does it try to be. A young black man trying to survive in the hood and dealing with the mess he created. The typical stereotypes abound. Unemployed, illegitimate child and crime. The main character is always conscious of the possibility of being killed on the streets. Part of the plot is that a part of him wants to escape, but he knows no other way to exist.

You could sit in the passenger seat of a car driving through Compton or Watts, run a camcorder out the window for about 90 minutes and come up with the same thing.(Provided you survive the trip) There are a few strange twists in this film, such as the mother-son dynamic and the battle of good vs. evil featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg.

Fmovies: Wow, what an unpleasant mess. Not ONE intelligent, moral or otherwise responsible character in the entire film. John Singleton is certainly a competent director as he has proven with Boyz In the Hood and well, Boyz in the Hood. The Actors were all good to Above average. Especially Ving Rames and surprisingly Tyrese. The film was well lit and in focus. Technically the production was sound. The actual Content of the film was very disappointing at best - disgustingly condescending at worst. The main character is a very unlikable, 20ish, lazy, obnoxious jerk. His friends and family are not any better. His mother tries and often comes close to being an actual, honest-to-goodness, responsible Adult Person, yet ultimately falls short. Rames has the most interesting character (Too bad the movie was not about him), a hard-boiled yet childish and irresponsible as a father figure. Believe it or not each character portrays the negative stereotypes that racists have been spouting on about for decades. Why Singleton chose to portray all of these African-Americans in the 'hood as dim, shallow, dishonest, foul-mouthed, materialistic, sexually amoral and completely irresponsible is beyond me. They are nothing like the wide variety of real-life African-Americans that populate my world. There are many scenes in this film that I could only imagine would make the KKK proud. Why indeed! And by the way, when a criminal moves into your home uninvited-CALL THE POLICE!! A sad commentary on the state of the depiction of African-Americans in film. If John Singleton is willing to depict his community this way-then what will mainstream Hollywood sink to in the future? My heart goes out to those who bother to care.

I liked this movie very much, this is not another gang movie but a very good story about a boy who doesnt want to leave his mothers home, but when his mother gets a new friend, he must share the house. And having a kid and a girlfriend, will bring much problems. good acting of all of them, what makes this story believeble. And whit some humor, and a appearence of Snoop Dogg, i dont like his rappin, but he does this very nice.

Baby Boy fmovies. R&B Crooner Tyrese takes a stab at acting in this realistic film about 'Baby Boy' . He thinks he's a man... he's got 2 kids. But really, he's just a baby who doesn't want to leave the cosy confines of his momma's house. There's no actual real plot-line to this movie, it's basically just an excerpt from Baby Boy's life - detailing his relationships with his mother, his kids, his kid's mothers and his mother's new man. Rapper Snoop Dogg also appears in this, as a rather nasty-lookin ex-boyfriend of Tyrese's woman. Fine directing, strong acting, a good metaphorical element about him being in the womb and sly humour make Baby Boy a good watch... although those sexually inhibited might find this a bit strong!

I love all of John Singleton's film ever since I seen his brilliant debut Boyz N The Hood which I was blown away by. When I heard about Baby Boy I was expecting a follow up to Boyz N The Hood but both films are very unique although some aspects are similar. Before I seen the film I wasn't expecting Tyrese Gibson to be that good because the late great Tupac Shakur was suppose to play the role of Jody but I was astounded at how good Tyrese is at acting. This also has to be the best film Snoop Dogg has starred in because some of his earlier efforts e.g. Urban Menace are just pitiful. I recommend this film to anyone who is interested in life in the hood or to people who like enjoyable dramas with good acting and dialogue. 8/10

Baby Boy, the sequel-cum-remake of Singleton's last great feat Boyz 'N' the Hood, returns to the same neighborhoood 10 years later to look at new people in the hood, very personally at that, and it is fascinating.

The film stars in a debut of Tyrese Gibson (some may remember Cuba Gooding got his first speaking role with Boyz) as Jody, a boy (age 20) who still lives with his mother, is the father of 2 children from 2 different mothers, has no real job and often just hangs about complaining and being spoiled. The film looks at this character, but also the forces that sort of make him into what he is. It is a really good character portrait that also has some really fired up performances from Ving Rhames, as a new ex-con boyfriend of his mother, A.J. Johnson as the mother, Omar Gooding (Gooding Jr.'s brother) as Jody's good friend, especially Taraji P. Henson in one of the best female performances of the year as Jody's girlfriend and also mother of one of his children, and of course, Snoop Dogg as a version of himself (albiet evil). It's a delight from the streak of not that good movies out now, and it should be able to appeal to both black and white audiences. Definately reccomended. A-