The Wood

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.

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.

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

The movie sparked some memories of the 80's and all the culture with it. I liked it, but it could be slow sometimes. Everyone did a great job, but Lisa Raye was annoying. As little as her part was, she couldn't even pull that off. The actress who played Tanya tries to hard to be ghetto or a homegirl. She's like that in many of her roles and it seems to be something she can't shake. Omar did a great job narrating and being the "sensible" one. The dynamics of the 3 were great and believable.

The Wood has not received very much attention and PR that many of the other movies have, but it should.

The movie is about three best friends who grew up in Inglewood California (hence the title - The Wood). The movie actually takes place on the wedding day of one of the friends and two hours before the ceremony, the groom is a no-show. The other two friends manage to track him down and proceed to bring him back.

As they bring the groom back to the wedding, the three begin to discuss old times and throughout the movie, flashback is used to show these experiences. Younger actors are used to depict the current friends and their past experiences are shown to the audience. The acting by all the characters is superb and the flashback technique is used beautifully.

The movie shows the relationships develop over the years through the eyes of one of the characters (Michael) and the humor is sprinkled throughout the movie in well placed and well timed deliveries. This is a very endearing movie that everyone should see but unfortunately, in a summer of either blockbuster or toilet humor movies, this one may get overlooked. For anyone who gets a chance, see this movie. Overall rating 9/10.