The Wood

I am searching for the soundtrack and a particular song which has a refrain Higher. I thought it was by Teddy Pendergast but am not sure. And I need to find the album which contains the song. The cast and script was great for it showed how men grow up together and support each other through some tough times. It also developed the character of the parents,the bride and groom,and the close friends around the Wood. Fortunately, the picture of the close families helps keep the movie on track.The mistakes of the bride and groom seem normal in this modern world.The forceful father made it far more realistic. The diting of the scenes helped it move faster as it began to drag during the scene outside the door when he is being held by the father with his head on the door. At the end when the groom throws out the arm band it was well done and effective.

The Wood starring Omar Epps, Taye Diggs, Sean Nelson, Melinda Williams, De' Aundre Bonds and Antwon Tanner was a perfect positive black film that deserves alot of credit. Unlike The Best Man, it doesn't have a boring pre-wedding story - actually it's a lot of fun as the three friends talk about their fun childhood in 'The Wood' a.k.a Inglewood, California. The flashback scenes are done so nicely and the characters are written in detailed fashion and come across very realistically.

When I first seen the trailer I was like it would probably be an O.K. movie but it was alot better than I could possibly expect and turns out to be a big winner, this is a sleeper for 1999

10/10

The most refreshing aspect of this movie is the mere fact that the three main African American characters are not : drug dealers, wise cracking officers of the law, pimps, womanizing alcoholics, bums, etc.

However, they are also not annoyingly wholesome. These three guys are real people with real problems. I'm not saying that the previously mentioned stereotypes don't exist, but I'm sick of being beat over the head with stereotypes while at the same time being told how evil stereotyping is.

This is the coming of age story of three black kids growing up in a suburb of Southern California. I don't know if Rick Famuyiwa is black or not, but he can write excellent black dialogue. Contrary to popular belief, most black people do not say f*** seven times in every sentence and this film acknowledges and respects that fact. The film does drag at points, but there are definitely big laughs and the flashbacks taking place in the mid 1980's are beautifully done. One almost feels that the film should have been shot as one long flashback sequence.

All in all, I feel that this is a great movie for people of any color to see. The movie is rated R, but it's very light hearted and aside from some language that any child over the age of ten has been exposed to, and one very funny and non-graphic sex scene, there's nothing offensive. I am inclined to think that African Americans have come to expect nudity, explicit sex, and violence in movies aimed at them, and some might ironically be disappointed by the cheerful mood of the movie. I hope that I'm wrong.

This is an American Pie-ish movie that you won't be ashamed to show your kids (or your parents) and a Soul Food-ish movie that your kids will actually enjoy. An excellent first movie for Rick Famuyiwa and a nice change of pace in black cinema.

This is the type of film that you can just sit back and enjoy. The male leads(Diggs, Epps and Jones) have chemistry as well as their young counterparts. The plot is simple and easy to follow. Roland(Diggs) is about to get married, but chickens out and goes over an old girlfriends house instead.Then Mike(Epps) and Slim(Jones) are sent over there to go get him before the wedding. While getting him sobered up, Mike reminisced on when they first met. This movie is better than movies of the same theme(The Best Man, The Brothers, etc.) because the male leads are more likable and less one dimensional, although Rolands reasons for not wanting to get married aren't explained enough. Also, the girl that plays young Alicia is way too old for the role.

Bottom line, the narrative by Epps is good and it's not riddled with stereotypes. Also, the 80's soundtrack is great and this is an entertaining movie. 7/10

It is nice to see movies that deal with the African-American experience outside of gangsters and violence. However, this movie fails to take off and manifest itself as a really good coming of age story. The leads are well cast and do good in their parts, but the script and the way it is handled is pedestrian at best. 6/10.