The Wood

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.

I really liked this movie, and I think many teens and adults, particularily African-Americans will like this movie. All those young adults who grew up will really like this movie, too.

I thought it was excellent, and many parts made me laugh so hard I cried. All the actors did a very good job, too.

When I saw this I thought "I hope this movie can relate to me and not insult me at all!", and I was clearly wrong. This movie related to me a whole lot! Just because I'm white doesn't mean I can't relate to this. I did in more ways then one! I know how it feels to be left out like some of the characters and growing up is a fact of life and I liked the way they show their friendship growing by day. Taye Diggs was wonderful as the groom who was having doubts, I liked his character a lot. I also loved the flashbacks throughout most of the movie, it was interesting and I also loved the way you knew a flashback was about to occur was when the record player would start with a different record each time. I think everyone will relate to this movie~ white, black, asian, or pink! Everyone needs to see this!

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

I had heard from several people before watching this movie that it was not as good as Omar Epps' other work, movies like "Higher Learning" and "First Time Felon". I wouldn't say it was as good as those two movies, but it is definately worth while. A story we all can relate to, especially us men. The story is about the trials and tribulations that a young man go through in the hood, or should I say "the wood". The movie deals with how boys interact with girls at a young age, and it does so very realistically. The acting is impeccable, the characters are incredibly real and the way the story is told is very charming. The movie has humor and drama mixed together beautifully. I think this is a movie everyone should see.