Unemployed and living with his 36-year-old mother (A.J. Johnson), Jody has fathered children from two young mothers and seems destined for an early grave. He never knew his father, but his mother's new boyfriend Melvin (played to perfection by Ving Rhames) is an ex-con with streetwise maturity that Jody, in time, will come to recognize and respect. This generational dynamic is the lifeblood of Singleton's central theme; Jody can follow Melvin's example or fall into the trap of lawlessness personified by Rodney (Snoop Dogg), a violent gangsta who arrives to threaten Jody's tenuous chance at a respectable adulthood. Through a wealth of fine performances and blistering dialogue, Baby Boy presents hard questions with no easy answers, and although Singleton is prone to polemical melodrama, his blunt approach serves a noble and ultimately hopeful purpose. --Jeff Shannon

Baby Boy

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She's trying to move on with her life doing gardening and a new man, an ex-con with two strikes against him. I don't buy it just like I don't buy the characters in this movie have changed at all from their experiences. The movie starts to completely fall apart when Snoop Dogg hits the screen. Pick this up with Hollywood Shuffle for some nice contrast. Baby Boy's Mama's Man gives Jody some good advice, but Jody refuses to listen cause he doesn't like the thug who has more wisdom and experience than he does. Underneath all the violence, foul language and graphic sex of this film is the same disjointed writing, clumsy acting, unfocused direction and poor editing that is prominent in every John Singleton film. Why do they keep letting this guy direct movies.

Baby Boy is worth a rental at best. Nice message Singleton. She starts to get jealous when she sees him flirting with his attractive female customers. Tyrese is Okay as Jody.

Singleton's picture of young Black men in America is heavily distorted, full of stereotypes. But Jody perseveres to the point where he does well for himself. This is Kettle. Omar Gooding steals the movie with his chilling portrayal of a man about to lose his mind. The second Baby mama from the middle class neighborhood disappears after the hour mark. Also, he never explores the roots of this irresponsible behavior among black men: the long-term psychological effects of institutional racism in the black community. Snoop Dogg is himself playing an evil gangsta without a soul.

Despite Singelton's unfocused direction and clunky writing, the cinematography in this movie is solid portraying the ghetto as a place that is stagnant in a world that is constantly progressing. He has no way to support himself and has no reason to. One irresponsible act leads to another irresponsible act and that puts Jody on the right track to responsible behavior. Snoop fresh off parole moves himself and his pot-smoking homeboys in.

I never get the sense that Jody has learned his lesson despite the idealized happy ending. Jody spends his days hanging out with an unbalanced homie P or driving around town in his baby mama's car. However this irresponsible movie tends to glorify the irresponsible behavior of its male characters instead of explaining the reasons why Black men have such a hard time becoming responsible providers in their communities. A terrified Jody returns to Mama's house and Her man helps him gets rid of the evidence. You're black. Education is the most powerful tool out of poverty yet Singleton never plays it up in this movie. Baby Boy is solid in the first half, and starts to lose focus and perspective after that.

Sadly his chicken headed mother acts more like a sister than his mom. A girl at baby mama's work starts noticing Jody and this is where the film starts losing its perspective. We get long scenes where his insecure baby mama gives him drama about cheating, and mixed signals about their relationship. Pressured by his woman, Baby Boy starts selling stolen clothes out of the trunk of her car, and in beauty salons. Hello Pot. After an attempted rape in front of Jody's son him and his pot smoking homies have it in for Jody. The two men eventually murder Snoop.

Most times Jody and the young men in this movie have no goals, no dreams, and no aspirations outside of getting drunk or high. Ving Rhames gives a solid performance as the ex-con. Mommy takes care of him and his baby mammas take care of the kids. After a fight turns into domestic violence, Baby Boy abandons his family. One thing that irked me was that there was no mention of education in this movie.

They plan a drive by which miraculously misses Jody. Jody starts blowing on worthless stuff like money on rims and clothes. Baby Boy follows the story of Jody, a 20-year-old black man who still lives with his mother. He's trying to start a business twenty years too late.

The Omar Gooding character who was becoming more and more mentally unbalanced and violent due to the effects of this discrimination seems to just change for the better after a baptism. He starts off weak, but gets better as the movie progresses. Jody has two girlfriends, and has two babies by them. John Singleton's baby Boy attempt to make a comment on the state of young black men in Los Angeles.

Later that night Jody and his mentally unstable friend plan a hit on Snoop to protect his family.

Tyrese plays the character "Jody" so well and he's so sexy while doing it. Henson is one of my favorite actresses as well and she does a good job at playing "Yvette." This movie takes you through life in the hood and a young male struggling on his journey to manhood. This is one of my favorite movies. Taraji P.

i think alot of women out there can relate to tyrese's character jody and what he put his mother and his girl through.

The cast of Ving Rhames, Tyrese Gibson, Taraji P. It is something we've seen a thousand times before and is something we will see a thousand times more, the only real triumph of this movie is the believability and chemistry of the cast. Jody has a son and daughter to two different women and instead of growing up and becoming a responsible adult, he still remains un-employed and scared to leave home. The black kid without a Dad, the abusive boyfriend slaps around his girl yet she stays with him, the black guy who has more than one girlfriend and a child that he doesn't really care about. With the cliché this film does give us a true image of what every person faces in their lives and that's the transition into adulthood when we must all leave the family nest and take flight by ourselves. Some find it easier than others and this film displays someone who really can't get the courage to get out there on his own. Buy it, but be warned, you've seen it all before.

I mentioned that this movie touches on something that we all face in our lifetime, and that's true, we all face the time when we must leave home and start a nest of our own. There are, however some real stereotyping issues that must be discussed to really give a fair and honest portrayal of this movie. Henson and A.J. Jody is a man who desperately wants to turn his life around and become the responsible father that he never had, but can't get over the fear of leaving his mothers nest and flying on his own. Jody is a young African American man who still lives with his mother and her new lover in LA.

This, to some may seem very clichéd and in a sense it is. This is something we see a lot in "Keeping it real" black movies, and simply a lot of young Afro-Americans will tell you that life in these areas is simply not like it's depicted. There are quite a few stereotypes in this movie that I think all will agree should not really take place in this movie if it was an attempt to give a real depiction of Afro-American life. These are all typical African American stereotypes that I just feel if John Singleton really set out to make a serious movie then these weren't really necessary. John Singleton gives us the stereotypical Afro American in LA setting.

John Singleton is a director that has brought us great movies that are typically based on the life of a young African American facing some sort of struggle. Johnson really make this movie blend well.

The film which tells the story of a man who needs to grow up, really hit home for guys who live in single parents with their mothers. The acting is exceptional in particular Tyrese who plays Jody.

Snoop is also good as Rodney as is Omar Gooding. This film is highly recommended.

The best acting job comes from Ving Rhames as Jody's mom's new man and Taraji P.

The only ones who didn't like it were those who didn't understand the message. Baby Boy was one of the best films to be released in the summer of 2001.

Henson as Jody's girl.