Baby Boy (2001)

Director:

John Singleton

Writer (WGA):

John Singleton (written by)

Release Date:

29 June 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

This is the story of Jody, an unemployed young black man, who's been living with his mother for several years...

Plot Keywords:

Salesman | Selfishness | Marijuana | Cheating | Gang

Awards:

1 win & 14 nominations

Cast

Tyrese Gibson	...	Joseph Summers
Taraji P. Henson	...	Yvette
Omar Gooding	...	Sweetpea
Tamara LaSeon Bass	...	Peanut
Candy Ann Brown	...	Ms. Herron (as Candy Brown Houston)
A.J. Johnson	...	Juanita
Ving Rhames	...	Melvin 'Mel'
Snoop Dogg	...	Rodney
Angell Conwell	...	Kim
Kareem J. Grimes	...	Do Dirty (as Kareem Grimes)
Tracey Cherelle Jones	...	Sharika
Kaylan Bolton	...	Joe Joe
Kylan Bolton	...	Joe Joe
Freez Luv	...	Cake Man
Mo'Nique	...	Patrice

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, language, violence and some drug use.

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | France:U | Germany:16 | Italy:T | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38090) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

11th Avenue / Vernon Avenue, Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

Singelton originally wrote the role of Rodney for Ice cube.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rodney and his crew are rolling and headed to find Jody there is no tint on the windows. Once they reach the spot where Jody is, all of a sudden the tint is so dark, Jody can't tell whether its Rodney driving or Yvette. When the window is going down you can see the tint is on the glass.

Quotes:

Juanita: Surprise me Jody and leave the nest.

Movie Connections:

Features Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966)

Soundtrack:

Hail Mary

Take 2

John Singleton did an excellent job portraying a young African American urban male, who is not a gang member or a street pharmacist. Jody is just trying to live. I thought the opening scene was very artistic, didn't love it though. I loved the relationship between Jody and his best friend Sweetpea. Both are trying to live but with different ways to do it. But despite differences, they both have each other's back. I liked Ving Rhames character as well (Melvin). Melvin showed that the street mentality never leaves a street thug, but he can learn to make better and more positive choices. His character showed that anyone can make it in life, once they have accepted who they are and where they are going. The women played strong roles as well. Not the typical cinematic role for a black woman either. Both Yvette and Jody's mother, Juanita, proved to be strong black women in their own way. Excellent movie, a little sluggish once or twice, but whose life isn't?! Singleton kept it true to the game. No one's life is truly cinematic, if it was then we wouldn't need cinema.