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Movies / On DVD / Baby Boy
Baby Boy

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Baby Boy (2001)

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Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:23

Rotten:6

Average Rating:6.4/10

Consensus: Preachy and repetitive in parts, Baby Boy still manages to exude authenticity, thanks to its competent cast.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong sexuality, language, violence and some drug use

Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Jun 27, 2001 Wide

Box Office: $27,823,989

Synopsis: In 1991, 23 year-old director John Singleton guided viewers through South Central Los Angeles, taking an unflinching look at the devastating impact of violence on the black family. Boyz N The... In 1991, 23 year-old director John Singleton guided viewers through South Central Los Angeles, taking an unflinching look at the devastating impact of violence on the black family. Boyz N The Hood's realistic portrayal of the inner city changed the face of black cinema forever. Ten years later, the Academy Award-nominated director and writer returns to the same inner-city L.A. neighborhood and its complex social and political issues for the story of Jody (Tyrese Gibson), a misguided, 20-year-old African-American who is really just a "baby boy" finally forced -- kicking and screaming -- to face the commitments of real life. Streetwise and jobless, he has not only fathered two children by two different women -- Yvette (Taraji P. Henson) and Peanut (Tamara Bass) but still lives with his own mother. He can't seem to strike a balance or find direction in his chaotic life. To make matters worse, Jody must contend with his volatile best friend, Sweetpea (Omar Gooding), who has spent his life shuffling in and out of prison and seems to find trouble wherever he goes. In the meantime, Jody's 36-year-old mother, Juanita (A.J. Johnson), has finally started to live her life again and is dating Melvin (Ving Rhames), a reformed O.G. ("old gangster"). Juanita is enjoying the simple things in life -- her mantras, her garden, her new man -- and wants Jody to finally take responsibility for his own life and children. Once Melvin moves in, there's little room in the nest for a kid who's overstayed his welcome and is perfectly content to ride the line between boy and man. Inevitably, Jody must face Melvin, both his "baby mamas," a new adversary, Rodney (Snoop Dogg), and his own fears of adulthood if he wants to escape the life of a baby boy. -- © 2001 Columbia Pictures [More]

Starring: Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg, Ving Rhames, Tamara LaSeon Bass

Starring: Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg, Ving Rhames, Tamara LaSeon Bass, A.J. Johnson, Omar Gooding, Taraji P. Henson

Director: John Singleton

Director: John Singleton
Screenwriter: John Singleton
Producer: Dwight Williams, John Singleton
Composer: David Arnold
Studio: Columbia Pictures

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Release:

Jul 4, 2006

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Reviews for Baby Boy

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/27/09
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/19/02
Globe and Mail
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
11/07/01
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
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I felt myself drawn into a vortex of raw emotion from which I could not escape.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
07/12/01
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Jody's] lessons on growing up and moving on never ring more than halfhearted and false.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
07/06/01
Mary Elizabeth Williams
Mary Elizabeth Williams
Salon.com
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
07/05/01
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What holds the movie together ... is Gibson's broodingly responsive performance.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
07/02/01
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
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Pootie Tang this ain't.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
06/29/01
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
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[Singleton] He means for this to be r,38p,11p revelatory, but it is instead exhausting.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
06/29/01
Steven Rosen
Steven Rosen
Denver Post
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Highly flawed but hugely fascinating.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
06/28/01
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
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Good acting lends some balance to director's liking for sermons.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
06/28/01
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
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Affecting if sometimes overwrought.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
06/28/01
Steven Rea
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
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Baby Boy is a movie that will act like a smack in the face to some audiences, while others may simply laugh in recognition.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
06/28/01
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
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Baby Boy has its slow parts, its obvious parts, its egregious parts. But it’s also a film that can take you to a place no other summer movie can.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
06/28/01
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

John Singleton must believe the truth will set him free, for he tells it, uncompromisingly, in Baby Boy. You may or may not like what you see, but there it is, indisputably, right in your face.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
06/27/01
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

For the first time since Hood, Singleton is really sailing.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
06/27/01
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Baby Boy can be tough going, very tough going, but the cast is built to take it.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/27/01
Bob Graham
Bob Graham
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film is emotionally overloaded with confrontations that repeat like a boxing- match replay that refuses to quit: Jody vs. Mom, Jody vs. Yvette, Jody vs. Melvin, Jody vs. the neighborhood thugs, Jody vs. Jody.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
06/27/01
Jan Stuart
Jan Stuart
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Baby Boy sometimes gets repetitive and is slightly overlong. But it's got solid performances and great dialogue, and, most impressively for a summer movie, it actually gives you something to think about.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
06/27/01
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A bracing film, passionate, frightening, sobering and funny all at once.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
06/27/01
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle
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