Well ol' Capone caught BABY BOY and liked what he saw. So he fired off the following to Father Geek to post for all of you wondering what to check out this weekend at your local multiplex... Sounds pretty damn good...
Hey, Capone in Chicago here with a look at John Singleton’s latest, fresh on the heels of his first Hollywood hit, SHAFT.
The film is called BABY BOY, and it is quite simply Singleton’s most mature and honest work to date. It also marks the acting debut of model-singer-MTV V-J Tyrese. I think I’ve seen his modeling work, I’ve never once heard his music or seen him on MTV, but I’ll tell you one thing: this guy can act.BABY BOY opens with the most memorable image I’ve seen in a film this year: a fully grown man (Tyrese) floating in a womb on the verge of birth. It sounds silly, I know, but when you combine it with the accompanying narration about the nature of black men, it becomes scathing social commentary. Tyrese plays Jody, the epitome of immature adult male, living in South Central L.A., the same area where Singleton’s BOYZ N THE HOOD took place. He has two children, each by a different woman, neither of whom is his wife. He still lives with his mother, and spends most of his time sleeping with women.
I should tell you right here that BABY BOY is one of the most sexual movies you’re likely to see this year. You’ve probably already heard about a very adventurous sex scene featuring Ving Rhames (doing a kind of bunny hop sex act that has to be seen to be believed, and even then...) as Jody’s mother’s new boyfriend. But BABY BOY goes way beyond that. I remember reading an interview with Spike Lee a few years back where he said showing a black and white couple having sex in JUNGLE FEVER wasn’t nearly as daring in movies as it would be showing a black couple have sex. BABY BOY makes up for decades of little to no black couples in love scenes.
But BABY BOY isn’t just about sex, and although Jody is our protagonist, he’s far from the most likeable guy. He’s smart enough to stay away from drugs and gangs, but not quite so grown up to leave home and settle down with one of the two likeliest candidates: the mothers of his children. I apologize for not remembering the name of the character (or the actress who plays her) of the baby’s mother we are clearly supposed to be rooting for. She’s terrific here as a woman who both loves and hates her man. Part of the reason Jody is afraid to “leave the womb” are his frequent nightmares of being killed in a hail of gun fire. But his dreams don’t end there, he also sees his funeral and takes stock in who is crying the most. The psychological depth of BABY BOY is enough to recommend it.In Jody, Singleton asks the audience to accept the truth about what’s going on with men in his community. His criticisms are harsh and neverending, and his praise of the women that so often pick up the slack (most often in the form of children) is boundless. And his placement of heroes in BABY BOY is unusual. We’re not sure for the longest time whether Ving Rhames’ character (an ex-con who ends up moving in with Jody and his mother) is good or bad. As in live, he can very easily turn either way. In fact, most of the men in the film are neither good nor bad. Some may even find the film frustrating because it doesn’t seem to take a stance on many serious issues.BABY BOY doesn’t really tell a traditional story. It’s a slice of life family drama. The film’s most dramatic moments don’t include plot twists, guns, or gangs (although the latter two of those elements are present); the best moments involve shouting matches and the threat of domestic violence. One very uncomfortable moment occurs after Jody hits his girlfriend for the first time; he immediately begins to apologize and hopes to extinguish her shock and pain with sex. She doesn’t stop him but the action clearly does not erase the hurt. It was very uncomfortable watching this scene.There are a few problems with BABY BOY. As if Singleton was not confident enough in his story of this family’s changing dynamic, he throws in some gun play toward the end. Jody’s best friend, Sweet Pea (played terrifyingly by Omar Gooding, Cuba Jr.’s brother), does something at the end of this film that, to me, would be categorized as an execution. It’s doesn’t reflect at all what we know about his character or his friendship with Jody, and his actions left a bad taste in my mouth as the film ended. Also, the inclusion of the albeit very funny and scary Snoop Dogg as Jody’s girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend recently released from prison is completely unnecessary. Snoop is great; his scenes have a lot of tension in them; but he doesn’t belong in this story. His presence actually sets up the scene with Sweet Pea that I had problems with, and good rewrite on the last 20 minutes of this movie might have solved these problems.
BABY BOY didn’t need to have an explosive climax (although in a film about sex, maybe it did); it’s a small-scale film that could have stayed that way and still be great.But I won’t condemn a film just for it’s sub-par ending. It’s only sub-par compared to the rest of BABY BOY, a great looking, wonderfully acted, striking film that hopefully will propel Singleton beyond POETIC JUSTICE and HIGHER LEARNING and into the realm of great filmmakers. This and SHAFT were steps in the right direction. I’m sure the budget on this movie was bigger than most of Singleton’s non-SHAFT movies, but the film feels small and intimate in a John Sayles kind of way. It’s a film I’m still thinking about because the characters are so richly drawn and complex. This is absolutely my favorite of Singleton’s movies and I hope he and Jody continue moving down their paths to maturity.
