Review: Boyz N the Hood

The story of three young African-American men trying to survive their lower-middle class surroundings of gang and crime-infested South Central L.A. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Tre, whose aggression and rebellion as a child forced his upscale, workaholic mother (Angela Bassett, very good in a thankless role) to send him to the ‘Hood in the care of his father Furious (Laurence Fishburne), an intelligent, discipline-oriented mortgage broker (whom Bassett is divorced from) in order to make a man out of her wayward son.

 

Now in his teens, Tre, against the anti-violence, independent-thinking teachings of his father (who refuses to leave the neighbourhood and his people), falls in with some of the ‘bad seeds’ of the neighbourhood, like childhood best friend Doughboy (Ice Cube), a delinquent who is constantly derided by his mother (Tyra Ferrell), in favour of his athletically-gifted, more promising brother Ricky (Morris Chestnut). Ricky wants a college scholarship, made somewhat difficult by his needs to support his young child to his girlfriend, whilst also passing his SAT’s. For his part, Doughboy seems to have no ambition and makes frequent trips in and out of prison. Tre has a decent job, college potential and has been romancing sweet Nia Long, who is a Catholic, and her religious convictions are putting a damper on Tre’s...well...let’s just say Tre ain’t gettin’ any for a long time. But none of that is going to matter if Tre can’t make it out alive, as the neighbourhood is fraught with crime and thugs, and the ever-present fear of a drive-by shooting.

 

Boy am I completely unqualified to comment on a lot of this stuff, but to hell with it, this non-American ‘honky’ is gonna give it a crack anyway. This extraordinary 1991 debut film from John Singleton (“Higher Learning”, “Poetic Justice”) is for me far more authentic and palatable than most of fellow African-American filmmaker Spike Lee’s ‘joints’, especially “Do the Right Thing”, where nearly everyone was racist except Lee’s own character (I do love “Malcolm X”, though and “Do the Right Thing” is still a solid film). Spike is a talented guy who sadly seems more interested in himself than anything else, and holds himself as the only person who is allowed to present the African-American perspective on screen, if you’ve heard any of his comments in the media (This isn’t meant to be an Anti-Spike rant, but a comparison of the two filmmakers I feel is totally necessary to understand the effectiveness of this film). For the most part, Singleton doesn’t big-note himself nor sledgehammer his points home (even in the underrated “Higher Learning” Singleton seemed to play fair, even though that film was a little more hyper-real), and the film is a pretty damn convincing, occasionally heartbreaking tale whose message of ‘Increase the Peace’ (as opposed to Spike Lee’s endorsement of Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” in “Do the Right Thing”, perhaps? I’m just putting the question out there) sadly didn’t really seem to change anything, at least not in the immediate years after the film’s release (there was even violence at initial screenings of the film, apparently, in different cities). Yes, sadly folks, this film is still completely relevant 20 years later, or at least, it certainly doesn’t seem like ancient history (Unless you’re looking at the career path of Ice Cube, or for that matter Cuba Gooding Jr. My how times have changed for those two!).

 

The film also has other things to say about African-American experience, and for my money, Singleton mostly keeps things even-handed by outlining yes, the inequality of things (Eurocentric SAT exams for instance), but not solely pointing the finger at ‘whitey’ (Even one of the racist cops happens to be a self-hating African-American). Singleton outlines the influence of environment and family life on a person’s upbringing, as the characters here generally come from fatherless homes (the film touches on issues of manhood and responsibility) and are well-acquainted with crime and violence from a very early age. Singleton is actually pointing fingers at African-Americans (the violence in the film is mostly black-on-black anyway) and asking them to take a look at themselves, too and see what they themselves can do to improve their situations. The film paints a much subtler and more thoughtful picture of modern racism (if there is such a term as ‘modern’ racism) than anything that had come before it. Fishburne (who would also do excellent work as another strong-willed black mentor in “Higher Learning”) is brilliant here as the thoughtful, caring father (y’all wish you had this guy as your dad, believe me) who wants to project a positive, self-sufficient, and productive representation of African-Americans. He is a strong role model that illustrates what Singleton sees as the need for African-American males to be responsible parents (something he’d later revisit in the less well-received “Baby Boy”) and decent citizens of society. It’s true, though, that in this character, Singleton (who deservingly was Oscar-nominated for his direction, the youngest ever, at age 23) also fumbles a bit, by having Fishburne, a mostly wonderfully positive role model (for whites or blacks, by the way) talk about African-Americans helping themselves (fair point), but also a supposedly alternate, positive spin on segregation, that I just didn’t think was something that Fishburne’s character would genuinely believe in. I’m no expert on the subject (nor will I ever pretend to know what this life is like) but while I get the notion of African-Americans coming together instead of killing each other, I don’t see segregating races to be a positive thing under any circumstances. But hey, maybe Fishburne and Singleton are right (I’m with them on the Eurocentric SAT exams, certainly), or maybe, just maybe, Singleton is merely offering the viewpoint up, amongst other viewpoints in the film, as one person’s attempt to make sense of a nonsensical, absolutely insane situation (Singleton certainly has a handle on his characters, and why they are the way they are). However, I still think it’s the one moment in the film where I genuinely felt lectured to by Singleton, whereas the rest of the film weaves its messages into the fabric of an interesting story that merely presents the experience of these characters.

 

Other than that, there is very little wrong with this film at all, and I admire Singleton for having the balls to look at things critically on more than one side. Very brave for such a young and novice filmmaker. When the film focuses on the issues these characters, especially the younger ones face (as the ‘hood itself seems to be a depressingly inescapable cycle of black-on-black gang violence), the film is powerful stuff.

 

All of the performances, especially those of Fishburne and Gooding Jr. (aside from one brief burst of overacting from the latter- you’ll spot it), are truly first-rate. Singleton also gets good work out of rapper Ice Cube by casting him in a role that allows for him to largely be a variant on his public persona at the time, but with a lot more depth to it. This may not be the most ‘fun’ to watch (though there are certainly moments of levity and at times it comes across like an African-American “Stand By Me”, apparently intentionally), but it is a very important film that everyone should see at least once. Oscar-nominated screenplay is by Singleton himself, who based many of the characters on people from his own personal experience.

 

I wouldn’t pretend to know anything much of the African-American experience in South Central LA, but through this film, Singleton gave me a bit of an education, and did so without making me feel like it was a lecture. Singleton makes it more of an experience, right down to the buzzing police choppers and potential for a spray of gunshots at any moment, making you get at least a taste of that danger, tension, and utter dire straits. The fact that he made this assured film at just 23 is truly astonishing (Kinda depressing though, is the fact that he also went on to make the abysmal “2 Fast 2 Furious”, but that’s another thing altogether). Best of all? Singleton merely gives himself a frivolous cameo as a mailman, not hogging the limelight for the sake of it. Take that, Spike, you arrogant twit!

 

Rating: B