Baby Boy

I really liked "Baby Boy." But maybe that's because I'm as white as they come. I've just read some other User Comments here, and whether John Singleton does or does not dish-up nothing but stereotypes about blacks, I won't debate. Look, I totally dug this film because of other reasons. While watching "Baby Boy," I had two thoughts: 1) that I don't relate to the 'black' culture presented, but 2) this didn't matter because I did relate TOTALLY to a lot of the issues at the core of this story. Psychological and emotional issues about growing up, about cheating, about love, about undesirable characters working their way back into your life and screwing everything up. And so on. OK, I understand Users' complaints here about "stereotypes," but I say to them, "Don't worry about it... this white guy kind of thought the same thing, too, and so this movie didn't paint a picture for me of 'what all blacks' lifestyles must be.'" Dudes, all I saw were universal themes about, like I said, about love, about becoming a responsible adult, and all that. White people go thru exactly the same shi.. stuff. Those universal themes just happened to be wrapped up in some kind of black wrapping paper. This viewer set that paper aside, and appreciated the gift inside. This movie really pressed some emotional buttons with me, and I appreciated it. [And by the way, we white people don't assume that all black people see all white people as the characters we are presented as in films: all the terrorists, rapists, mid-western nerd housewives, financiers, CEOs, trailer-trash, etc etc etc. Why do (some of) you assume we think ALL blacks "are" as presented in films such as "Baby Boy"? We don't. Period.]

In fact, I could relate to the issues of this film's men AND women. So, this script was universal in that way, too. Anyway, here's all what I really wanted to say about this film: All these emotional issues were brought to life by EXCELLENT performances. (I say Ving Rhames is one of our best actors working in America today. He is consistently excellent; I never see him "acting," I always only see him "being" his character. And his performance here in "Baby Boy" was Oscar-worthy, if you ask me).

I had no idea, until the ending credits, that "Baby Boy" was written and directed by John Singleton. Honestly, while watching it (on cable) I was convinced that it must have been written by a woman, because it so perfectly expressed such poignant emotional moments. Of course, the actors - and Singleton as director - can also share credit for those moments. Also while watching, I had the thought that "this is well-directed; who did this?" I guess my point here is [and this comment may annoy some Users here] that "Baby Boy" offers proof of Singleton's talents as one of those very good filmmakers who actually DESERVES the accolades critics and "industry" people give him. [Although, I never saw "Higher Learning," which Users here say stunk.] Anyway, not the BEST film ever, but a solid 3 out of 4 stars. [Okay, one more word about the acting in this flick: I'm an actor myself, and many of the performances here made me LOVE acting... there were nice meaty scenes and speeches here, and always so well done that it made me proud to be an actor. (Especially one monologue by Mr Rhames -- phenomenal, Sir!). Bravo to all this cast.] Perhaps the best overall thing I can say about "Baby Boy" is that it left me wanting to see it again.

Director John Singleton hits the black manhood where it hurts. His theme for the movie from the start is that black men in America are little more than babies. He rails against the culture that infantilize them and the men who live that way.

Joseph Summers (Tyrese Gibson) is a young black man struggling to get by. He lives with his mama (Candy Ann Brown). His baby mama Yvette (Taraji P. Henson) is frustrated with him. She starts going with gangster Rodney (Snoop Dogg). His mother has a new boyfriend Mel (Ving Rhames) who's done time.

It's very tough. Joseph makes mistakes. He's an idiot at times, but he isn't a bad guy. Tyrese Gibson doesn't allow him to play the fool in this. He instills the character with humanity even when things are at the lowest. If there is one message, I think Singleton is trying to tell young black men to get their sh14 together.

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-

Despite (or maybe because of) the negative things I'd heard from friends and acquaintances, I decided to check BB out for myself. I was very glad I did.

It's basically a scaled-down version of Boyz in the Hood, with fewer characters allowing for more development. While it's not quite on the same level as Boyz, it's a very emotional drama that's thought provoking, sad, hilariously funny, and at times subtly disturbing.

After this, Boyz, and Shaft, I am anxiously awaiting John Singleton's next work.