Video Picks Archive

November 7, 2001
This Week's Video Picks
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Reviews by Matt Heffernan <matt@filmhead.com>

This week my picks are Baby Boy (2001 - ) and Boyz N the Hood (1991 - ).

The first film this week is a thesis on the modern African-American man. Using the character of Jody (Tyrese Gibson), writer/director John Singleton tries to show that this grown man, like many of his peers, is a perpetual child who irresponsibly goes around impregnating women to continue the cycle. Within this, Singleton makes a surprisingly warm, charming film that also involves serious issues and, eventually, violence.
Full review from June 28, 2001

Baby Boy was something of a homecoming for Singleton, who placed his directorial debut (and my second pick) in the same setting: South Central Los Angeles. Boyz N the Hood stars Cuba Gooding Jr. in his breakthrough role as a young man trying to grow up amid chaos and bad influences. Laurence Fishburne (back when we could call him "Larry") plays his father, who was once a tough gangster, but wants to keep that lifestyle away from his son. It is an amazing film, full of powerful imagery and performances that shall never be forgotten. For the past ten years, Singleton has been trying, but so far has failed at making a film as brilliant as his first. It was clearly the best film of 1991, yet somehow was not even nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. It did earn two nominations for Singleton (for writing and direction) at the age of 24, making him the youngest filmmaker to receive such an honor. He didn't win anything that night in 1992, but in 2000 his film did land a spot on my list of the top ten films of the 1990s.

Here's some merchandise for sale at

Baby Boy (2001)	-- VHS
Baby Boy (2001)	-- DVD
Baby Boy: Soundtrack (explicit lyrics)	-- Compact Disc
Baby Boy: Soundtrack (edited)	-- Compact Disc
Boyz N the Hood (1991)	-- VHS
Boyz N the Hood (1991)	-- DVD
Boyz N The Hood: Music From The Motion Picture	-- Compact Disc

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