Review of Baby Boy (2001) by Raji K — 27 Jan 2017

Tyrese and Vince Rhames star in a film written, produced and directed by John Singleton, Baby Boy. Singleton presents the idea of many young black men are still babies in the fact they won't leave the nest, remain attached to their mothers among a few things. Tyrese is Jody and he has many of these characteristics. He lives at home, and cheats on his girlfriend Yyvette (Taraji P. Henson) that he has a kid with. He does not have much of a job, and spends most of his days drifting.

Things are about to change when mother starts dating Melvin (Ving Rhames). Melvin is a man that has gone through it all. Jody is threatened by this and is also afraid that he is going to be kicked out of the house. The two are at constant odds, and his mother tries to keep the peace between the two. His girlfriend gets tired of him cheating on him, but Jody seems to not realize what he has despite some of his best efforts. When a former lover of Yvette comes out of prison (Snoop Dogg) the film escalates and it becomes time to grow up. As a viewer, you feel for Jody and do hope that he begins to group up and make light of his circumstances, but realize it's hard for him to be motivated with the circumstances of his surroundings.

Baby Boy features decent characters that keep the movie going. The film's plot seems a bit sparse and is sometimes boring. The performances of Taraji Henson, Rhames and Jody's mother A.J. Johnson are quite good and steal every moment they have on screen. Tyrese does a good enough job for as an actor coming from a music background. Singleton's film is not as powerful or memorable as Boyz N the Hood, but is a solid follow-up, and has some underrated performances. It is by no means a must-see film, but those who enjoy Singleton's films should enjoy this one as well.

-1.27.2017.