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Baby Boy (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Baby Boy' is a 2001 American coming-of-age hood comedy-drama film directed, written, and produced by John Singleton and starring Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg, Ving Rhames, Omar Gooding, A.J. Johnson and Taraji P. Henson. The film follows Joseph "Jody" Summers (Gibson), a 20-year-old bike mechanic who still lives with his own mother (Johnson), as he lives and learns in his everyday life in the hood of Los Angeles.
It was the film debut of actress Taraji P. Henson and R&B singer Tyrese Gibson. Gibson and Henson later starred in the film 'Four Brothers' (also directed by Singleton). The film, originally set to star rapper Tupac Shakur, instead switched to Gibson after Shakur's death in 1996.
Plot
Joseph "Jody" Summers waits for his girlfriend Yvette at an abortion clinic after compelling her to go. They then have a heated argument about his lack of commitment and selfishness in their relationship; Yvette asks Jody if he will ever come live with her and their son JoJo, but Jody avoids the subject and comes and goes as he pleases.
Meanwhile, Jody also continues having affairs with other women, including a young girl named Peanut, who Jody also has a child with. Jody also nearly has sex with Pandora, Yvette's colleague and co-worker, but manages to rebuff her advances. When she discovers his cheating, they get into another argument which eventually turns physical, culminating in Yvette kicking Jody out of her home.
Yvette's gangster ex-boyfriend Rodney is released from San Quentin State Prison and returns to the neighborhood to move in with Yvette. However, Rodney does not care for JoJo and wants to impregnate Yvette himself, but when Rodney attempts to rape Yvette in front of her son, he stops himself out of guilt. Despite their previous issues, Yvette begins to realize she is still in love with Jody.
Jodys mother Juanita finds marijuana in her garden and blames Jody. Jody then becomes angry at his mother and blames Melvin, her new boyfriend and an ex-convict. Melvin comes home and admits to Juanita that he planted it and apologizes for it, which Juanita forgives. An upset Jody argues with his mother, before getting into an argument with Melvin which ends with Melvin punching him and breaking a table.
Frustrated, Jody leaves the house to see his friend Sweetpea. Soon after, Yvette kicks Rodney and his friends out of her apartment. Eventually, Yvette and Jody reconcile at Sweetpea's house, and Yvette tells Jody about how Rodney tried to rape her in front of JoJo. Rodney then steals Yvettes money and keys from her wallet and drives off in her car to go and find Jody. Rodney tries to kill Jody in a drive-by shooting, but is unsuccessful.
Later that night, Jody and Sweetpea confront Rodney, and as he attempts to escape, Jody shoots him in the legs. Sweetpea urges Jody to kill Rodney, but he refuses, at which point Sweetpea shoots and kills Rodney himself. Horrified by Rodney's death, Jody prepares to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head, but is stopped by Melvin who then takes the gun. After reflecting on the death of Rodney and how he put Yvette and JoJo in danger due to his absence, Jody finally decides to move in with Yvette.
Jody then comes to accept that Juanita's relationship with Melvin is a stable one, and that he has a family of his own that he needs to protect and take care of. Afterward, Jody and Yvette get married and look forward to the birth of their unborn child. Meanwhile, Sweetpea decides to get baptized and put his old life as a criminal behind him.
Cast
* Tyrese Gibson as Joseph "Jody" Summers
* Omar Gooding as Sweetpea "Pea", Jody's friend
* Taraji P. Henson as Yvette, Jody's girlfriend
* Snoop Dogg as Rodney, Yvette's ex-boyfriend
* Adrienne-Joi Johnson as Juanita, Jody's mother
* Ving Rhames as Melvin, Juanita's ex-con boyfriend
* Mo'Nique as Patrice, Juanita's best friend
* Angell Conwell as Kim, Sweetpea's girlfriend
* Tamara LaSeon Bass as Peanut, the mother of Jody's daughter
* Candy Ann Brown as Ms. Herron, Peanut's mother
* Tawny Dahl as Pandora, Yvettes scandalous co-worker
* Big Tray Deee as Knucklehead #1
* Goldie Loc as Knucklehead #2
Reception
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $8,606,403 in 1,533 theaters in the United States, averaging $5,614 per theater, and ranking #5 at the box office. It grossed a total of $28,734,552 domestically and $647,097 elsewhere for a total of $29,381,649, above its $16 million production budget.Critical response
'Baby Boy' received positive reviews from critics and has a rating of 71% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 92 reviews with an average score of 6.2 out of 10. The consensus states "Preachy and repetitive in parts, 'Baby Boy' still manages to exude authenticity, thanks to its competent cast." The film also has a score of 55 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 26 critics indicating 'Mixed or average reviews'.Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and stated in his review: "'Baby Boy' is a bold criticism of young black men who carelessly father babies, live off their mothers and don't even think of looking for work. It is also a criticism of the society that pushes them into that niche. There has never been a movie with this angle on the African-American experience" and "[it] doesn't fall back on easy liberal finger-pointing. There are no white people in this movie, no simplistic blaming of others; the adults in Jody's life blame him for his own troubles, and they should."
Kenneth Turan, film critic for the 'Los Angeles Times', praised the film for being "...Compelling.... heartfelt and personal..." Jonathan Rosenbaum of 'Chicago Reader' also liked the film, stating "Like John Singleton's other features, this is far from flawless.... But the characters are so full-bodied and the feelings so raw and complex that I'd call this the best thing he's done to date..."
The film ultimately received 10 nominations at the Black Reel Awards of 2002, including Outstanding Film, and 3 nominations at 2002 NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Motion Picture. The film was also screened at the 2001 Locarno International Film Festival in competition for the Golden Leopard and would receive a 'Special Mention' from the jury for "For its innovative concept and ensemble acting."
Director John Singleton was very proud of the movie: "It was just soulful, I made a movie that I wanted to be as soulful as a Marvin Gaye record. That was my goal for better or worse. Not necessarily a perfect film, but just something that you watch, its memorable. Thats what I love about that movie."
Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing hip-hop and R&B music was released by Universal Records on June 19, 2001. It peaked at #41 on the 'Billboard' 200, #12 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #5 on the Top Soundtracks, and spawned one charting single, "Just a Baby Boy", performed by Snoop Dogg featuring Tyrese & Mr. Tan, which made it to #90 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 and #40 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. The soundtrack contains interludes which are sound clips from the film. An album of the film's score, by British composer David Arnold, was released by Varese Sarabande.
#"The Womb (Intro)"- 1:14 (Tyrese)
#"Just a Baby Boy"- 4:16 (Snoop Dogg featuring Tyrese & Mr. Tan)
#"Just a Man"- 3:59 (Raphael Saadiq featuring Devin the Dude)
#"Focus (Interlude)"- :22 (Tyrese & Taraji P. Henson)
#"Baby Mama"- 4:44 (Three 6 Mafia featuring La Chat)
#"Talk Shit 2 Ya"- 4:35 (D'Angelo featuring Marlon C)
#"I'd Rather Be With You"- 4:55 (Bootsy Collins)
#"You"- 4:45 (Felicia Adams)
#"Jody Meets Rodney (Interlude)"- :30 (Tyrese & Snoop Dogg)
#"Crip Hop"- 5:03 (Tha Eastsidaz featuring Snoop Dogg)
#"Thatshowegetdown"- 4:17 (B.G. featuring Baby & Lac)
#"Guns and Butter (Interlude)"- :30 (Ving Rhames)
#"We Keep It G"- 4:44 (Lost Angels)
#"Eat Sleep Think"- 3:36 (Connie McKendrick)
#"Just to Keep You Satisfied"- 4:24 (Marvin Gaye)
#"I Hate You (Interlude)"- :41 (Tyrese & Taraji P. Henson)
#"Love & War"- 5:21 (Anthony Hamilton featuring Macy Gray)
#"Straight Fucking"- 4:59 (The Transitions featuring Gator)
#"Baby Boy"- 4:30 (Felicia Adams)
See also
* List of hood films
References
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