Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 hood film, written and directed by John Singleton. Starring Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Angela Bassett, Regina King, and Laurence Fishburne, the film depicts life in poor South Central (now South) Los Angeles, California, and was filmed and released in the summer of 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.[3]
In 2002, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.[4]
Plot
The film opens in 1984, focusing on three young black male youths, Tre, Doughboy, and Ricky, as they grow up in South Central, Los Angeles. Tre Styles is an intelligent young student, but encounters disciplinary problems at a young age. His mother Reva Devereaux (Angela Bassett), decides it would be best for her son if Tre were to live with his father, Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne). Furious is a no nonsense disciplinarian who teaches his son how to be a man. Tre begins his new life in South Central L.A. and reunites with old friends Doughboy, Ricky, and Little Chris though shortly after being reunited, Doughboy and Chris are arrested for shoplifting from a local convenience store.
Seven years later in 1991, the three boys lead very different lives. Tre (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) a high school senior aspiring to become a college man, Ricky (Morris Chestnut) an All-American football player, and Doughboy (Ice Cube) a crack dealing gangster. The film offers a keen insight on racial inequality, drugs, sex, and gang violence.
Doughboy has just been released from prison and spends most of the time hanging out with friends Chris (now confined to a wheelchair), Monster and Dookie. Ricky is a star running back at Crenshaw High School. He has a son with his girlfriend Shanice (Alysia Rogers) and is being recruited by the University of Southern California, but needs to earn a minimum SAT score of 700 to receive an athletic scholarship. Tre also attends Crenshaw High School with Ricky and also has a girlfriend, Brandi (Nia Long). Tension exists between the two because he wants to have a sexual relationship with Brandi, who resists the idea because of her Catholic faith.
Tre is torn by his desire to be a success and live up to his father's expectation and the pull of peer pressure to be more involved in the local gang culture of Doughboy and his crew. The climax of the film depicts Ricky's murder by members of the local Bloods, with whose leader he had a minor conflict, shortly before the audience learns that he has achieved the 700 SAT score necessary to attend USC. Since the police don't offer hope in South Central Doughboy, Monster, and Dookie intend to avenge Ricky's death. Tre, who is Ricky’s best friend, takes Furious' gun, but is stopped by him before leaving the house. Furious convinces Tre not to take the gun and seek revenge and Tre seems to relent, but he soon joins Doughboy and his friends on a revenge mission. Half way through the trip, Tre realizes his father was correct, asks Doughboy to pull the car over, and returns home. Doughboy and his two friends proceed and avenge Ricky's murder, gunning down his killers in cold blood.
The film ends the following morning with a conversation between Tre and Dough Boy. Dough Boy understands why Tre left the revenge mission and both laments the circumstances that exist in South Central and questions whether or not they are locked in an unending cycle of violence. The end titles reveal that Doughboy was murdered two weeks later, and Tre went on to college with Brandi in Atlanta (with Tre enrolling at Morehouse, and Brandi at nearby Spelman).
Cast
Reception
Ever since its release in 1991, Boyz N the Hood has received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Based on 45 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Boyz n the Hood has an overall approval rating of 98%, with a weighted average score of 8.4/10.[5] By comparison, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 73 out of 100 from the 18 reviews it collected.[6]
Awards
Academy Awards: 1992
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
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
- 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 Before You Die by Channel 4.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing hip hop music was released on July 9, 1991 by Qwest Records. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
References
External links
