Boyz n the Hood

1991 "Once upon a time in South Central L.A... It ain't no fairy tale."
7.8| 1h52m| R| en| More Info
Released: 12 July 1991 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.

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classicsoncall What I found inspiring about the story was it's message, largely implied by Laurence Fishburne's character, that the way out of the ghetto was for people to take charge of their own lives and improve themselves via education and taking personal responsibility. The dichotomy of street life is represented by Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and Ricky Baker (Morris Chestnut), who make an effort to improve their situation in life, against the gang-banger mentality of young blacks like Doughboy Darren (Ice Cube) and Dooky (Dedrick D. Gobert), who engage in an eye for an eye existence in relation to the street gangs that roam South Central Los Angeles. Particular emphasis is placed on the idea of young black kids needing a father, or at least a father figure in their lives to teach them right from wrong in matters of education, job skills and even the responsibility that goes along with pre-marital sex. The dialog between Furious and his son is particularly frank and well intentioned, making this picture appear to be worthy viewing for all inner city high school students. I found the movie to be sensitive and thought provoking, with only some mild disappointment with the closing screen narrative that described the fate of Doughboy two weeks after the tragic death of Ricky. As a fictional story, I didn't find it necessary to sensationalize the drama of yet another young man's death in service to the movie, as there was enough to contemplate regarding the tragedy that had just recently occurred.
seymourblack-1 Set in the Crenshaw neighbourhood of South Central L.A., this hard-hitting drama charts the journey that three black youths make from boyhood to adulthood The challenges they encounter are far greater than those faced by most people because their environment predisposes them to the kinds of dysfunctional relationships, drug dependencies or early violent deaths that are such a normal feature of everyday life as they know it. First-time writer and director John Singleton, whose story is based on his own childhood experiences, posits that the most effective way out of this self-perpetuating cycle of violence, poverty and hopelessness is through better parenting.As a 10-year-old boy, Tre Styles (Desi Arnez Hines 11) is bright, short-tempered and constantly in trouble at school. As his divorced mother feels unable to do anything to change his behaviour, she sends him to live with his father so that he can learn how to become a man and enjoy a better and more successful future. Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne) is smart, stern and strict and immediately starts mentoring his son in an effort to teach him the importance of education and how to survive in the dangerous neighbourhood in which he also grew up. Seven years later, Tre (now played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) and his friends Doughboy (Ice Cube) and Ricky (Morris Chestnut) are on the brink of adulthood and apparently heading in different directions.Tre is responsible, has a job in a clothes shop and plans to go to college with his steady girlfriend, Brandi (Nia Long). His best friend Ricky has already become a father and lives with his girlfriend and his infant son in his mother's house. His ambition is to become a professional football player and he hopes that the scholarship he's preparing for will be his road to success and provide him with a way out of the 'hood. Doughboy, who's Ricky's half-brother, has regularly been in trouble with the police since his first arrest on a shoplifting charge at the age of ten and now, as an ex-con, has no career prospects, is dealing drugs and is also a member of a local gang.The boys all get on well together but a tragic event soon creates a hunger for revenge and the way in which Tre responds is guaranteed to have enormous implications for his future as well as providing an acid test for how successful his father's mentoring has actually been.None of the boys grew up in a conventional family environment as their fathers were all absent for most of their lives and this put them in grave danger of ending up in gangs. This point is made strongly but their relationships with their mothers were also dysfunctional in different ways with Doughboy losing out the most and as a result, growing up with an inherent disrespect for women."Boyz n The Hood" depicts Crenshaw as a neighbourhood where life is cheap and guns, gangs and drugs are always in evidence, as are the seemingly ever-present police helicopters that contribute so strongly to the place feeling and looking like a war zone. The ways in which this is done on-screen are incredibly powerful and realistic. Equally powerful, however, is the way in which all the characters are so understandably products of their environment and so well represented by a wonderful cast of actors (especially Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Laurence Fishburne) who make them so relatable.The fact that this movie is the work of a 23-year-old first-time director/writer is absolutely extraordinary and a great achievement by anyone's standards.
monstermayhem32 Even after more than 25 years since its raise, boys in the hood remains what I would call a cult classic. While the film does have its funny moments, but what's great about is how it deals what blacks had to go through in crime ridden Los Angeles and often trapped in the gang life because of limited opportunities and how the consequences of that life would result in jail, teen pregnancy, and death. The story deals with three friends, the, doughboy, and Ricky who try to navigate the struggles they go through on a daily basis while trying to avoid being trapped in the thug life.
jsereno-45019 I really liked this movie I would definitely recommend this to my friends. I'm just going to spoil this movie for you guys so I'm just warning you guys to stop reading this if you haven't watched the movie yet. I think the movie is really good but the best part and the most emotional part is the last 20 minutes I'm a guy and I cried and I usually don't cry so that means its a really good movie. Too spoil it for you guys ,Rickie the main character gets shot because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.my favorite scene was at the beginning of the movie when Doughboy said "sorry b***" that part was funny. This movie relates too a young African man trying to get into college for football and leaving his neighborhood but anyhow if you haven't watched this movie you should.