Baby Boy

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.

In 2001, I did not like this move. In 2021, I can appreciate why it is loved by so many.

With age and life experiences comes understanding as well as an appreciation of things.

John Singleton had a way of capturing the heart, creativity, culture, love and struggle of black people that still resonates today. You can see how his movies set the stage for other classics such as Jason's Lyric, The Wood, Friday and many others.

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.

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-

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