Boyz n the Hood

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This article is about the 1991 film. For works with similar titles, see Boyz n da Hood (disambiguation).
Boyz n the Hood
Boyz n the hood poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Singleton
Produced by Steve Nicolaides
Written by John Singleton
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Music by Stanley Clarke
Cinematography Charles Mills
Edited by Bruce Cannon
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
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  • July 2, 1991 (1991-07-02) (Century City)
  • July 12, 1991 (1991-07-12) (United States)
Running time
 112 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $6.5 million[1]
Box office $57.5 million (North America)[1]

Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American teen hood drama film written and directed by John Singleton in his directorial debut, and starring Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Morris Chestnut, Larry Fishburne, Nia Long and Angela Bassett, depicting life in South Central Los Angeles, California. This was the film debut of Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut.

Boyz n the Hood was filmed in South Central Los Angeles, California from October 1 to November 28, 1990 and released in the United States on July 12, 1991. It was nominated for both Best Director and Original Screenplay during the 1991 Academy Awards, making Singleton the youngest person ever nominated for Best Director and the first African–American to be nominated for the award.

The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.[2] In 2002, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.[3]

Plot

In 1984, ten-year-old Tre Styles lives with his single mother Reva in Inglewood, California. After Tre gets involved in a fight at school, his teacher informs Reva that Tre is rather intelligent, but he is immature and lacks respect. Worried about Tre's future, Reva sends him to live in the Crenshaw neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles with his father, Furious Styles, from whom she hopes Tre will learn valuable life lessons. In Crenshaw, Tre reunites with his friends, Darrin "Doughboy" Baker, Doughboy's maternal half-brother Ricky, and Chris, their mutual friend. That night, Tre hears his father shooting at a burglar who tried to rob the house. Police officers arrive more than an hour later, and while the Caucasian officer is civil, the African-American officer treats Furious with disrespect and contempt.

Seven years later, Doughboy is now a member of the Rollin 60 Neighborhood Crips, along with Chris, who is now in a wheelchair from a gunshot wound, and new friends Dooky and Monster. Ricky, now a star running-back for Crenshaw High School, lives at home with his mother Brenda, girlfriend Shanice, and their toddler son. Tre has grown into a mature and responsible teenager, who hopes to attend college with his girlfriend, Brandi.

During a local street racing gathering, Ricky is provoked by Ferris, a member of the rival Crenshaw Mafia Bloods gang. In response, Doughboy brandishes his handgun, leading to a brief argument between the two gangs. After they leave, Tre talks about leaving Los Angeles, He and Ricky are pulled over by the police. The lead officer, the same one who was disrespectful to Furious seven years earlier, deliberately intimidates and threatens Tre with his gun, knowing he can't do anything. Distraught, Tre goes to Brandi's house, where he finally breaks down. After she consoles him, they have sex for the first time.

The next afternoon, Ricky has a fight with Doughboy, with Brenda quickly taking Ricky's side and berating Doughboy. While Ricky and Tre walk to a nearby store, they see Ferris and the Bloods driving around the neighborhood and cut through back alleys and separate to avoid them. The Bloods find Ricky and murder him, leaving Tre and Doughboy to carry his corpse back home. Brenda and Shanice hysterically blame Doughboy, who unsuccessfully tries to comfort them. That night, Brenda sobs over Ricky's SAT test results, discovering he earned a 710, just enough to qualify for the USC scholarship he wanted.

The remaining boys vow vengeance on the Bloods. Furious finds Tre preparing to take his revolver, but he eventually convinces Tre to abandon his plans for revenge. However, Brandi and Furious catch Tre sneaking out of his bedroom window to join Doughboy. That night, as the gang drives around the city, Tre asks to be let out of the car and returns home, realizing that his father was right to keep him from falling into the cycle of violence. Doughboy finds the Bloods at a local fast-food restaurant, and Monster opens fire on them in a drive-by shooting, killing one and wounding the other two. Doughboy gets out and personally executes Ferris and the other wounded gang member, avenging Ricky's death.

Doughboy visits Tre, now understanding Tre's reasons for abandoning the gang. Doughboy knows that he will soon face retaliation for Ferris' death, and accepts the consequences of his crime-ridden life. He plaintively questions why America "don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the hood". He sorrowfully says that he has no brothers left now after Ricky's death, but is embraced by Tre, who says Doughboy "still got one brother left."

The epilogue reveals that Doughboy was murdered two weeks later. Tre and Brandi resume their relationship, and go on to attend Morehouse and Spelman in Atlanta.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

Boyz n the Hood received universal acclaim. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 96% based on 49 reviews, with an average score of 8.3/10, making the film a "Certified Fresh" on the website's rating system.[4] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 73%, based on 18 reviews, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews".[5]

Cultural impact

The film has been referenced innumerable times in other works, including works by Lupe Fiasco, Game and by Ice Cube himself. In 1994, British jungle DJ duo Remarc and Lewi produced a song titled "Ricky". The song itself is built up of various sound bites from the movie, particularly the scene where Ricky is murdered. Ice Cube's song, "Check Yo Self", also slightly references the film.

On the July 12, 2011 episode of her self-titled talk show, Mo'Nique celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of Boyz n the Hood with director John Singleton, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Yo-Yo, and Regina King.

Awards and accolades

Academy Awards: 1992

  • Nominee, Best Director, John Singleton
  • Nominee, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, John Singleton

BMI Film Music Award: 1992

Image Award: 1993

  • Winner, Outstanding Motion Picture, Boyz n the Hood

MTV Movie Award: 1992

  • Nominee, Best Movie, Boyz n the Hood
  • Winner, Best New Filmmaker, John Singleton

National Film Preservation Board, USA: 2002

  • National Film Registry, Boyz n the Hood

New York Film Critics Circle Award: 1991

  • Winner, Best New Director, John Singleton

Political Film Society, USA: 1992

  • Winner, PFS Award, Peace
  • Nominee, PFS Award, Exposé
  • Nominee, PFS Award, Human Rights

Writers Guild of America, USA: 1992

  • Nominee, WGA Award (Screen), Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, John Singleton

Young Artist Awards: 1992[6]

  • Winner, Young Artist Award, Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture

In 2007, Boyz n the Hood was selected as one of the 50 Films To See in your lifetime by Channel 4.

Soundtrack

Year Album Peak chart positions Certifications
U.S. U.S. R&B
1991 Boyz n the Hood 12 1
  • US: Gold

References

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External links

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