Themes: Wedding Bells, High School Life, Faltering Friendships
Main Cast: Omar Epps, Sean Nelson, Taye Diggs, Trent Cameron, Richard T. Jones
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 104 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A man who's uncertain about the biggest step forward of his life steps back to take a look at his younger days in this comedy/drama. Roland (Taye Diggs) is a few hours away from getting married, and he is starting to have second thoughts; as much as he loves his fiancée, he can't stop thinking about Tanya (Tamala Jones), his first serious girlfriend in high school. Roland is hanging out with his two best friends, whom he also first met in school, Mike (Omar Epps), a solid regular guy, and Slim (Richard T. Jones), a flashy personality who plays pro basketball in Europe. They talk about the old days and flash back on growing up in Inglewood, California (nicknamed "The Wood") in the 1980's, when Run DMC and Eric B & Rakim were the happening sounds, and guys used to argue over who was hotter, Vanity or Apollonia. At the last minute, Roland takes off, wanting to pay Tanya a visit, and Mike and Slim are determined to track him down and make sure that he gets to the altar on time. The Wood was the debut feature film for writer/director Rick Famuyiwa, whose first short subject, Blacktop Lingo, won an enthusiastic response at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The Wood is a comedy divided into two ill-fitting halves: the good one, which takes place in the nostalgic 1980s and features unknown actors, and the bad one, a modern-day wedding disaster in which three rising stars show lackluster chemistry. The good one, however, is reason enough to recommend the movie. With Sean Nelson, the talented young actor who carried Fresh (1994), setting the pace, the flashback trio display an effortless joshing camaraderie, just one of the details of an Inglewood that seems charmed through the selective lens of memory. Here The Wood smartly tweaks the familiar agendas and archetypes of 'hood movies: The threatening gang-banger is wise and forgiving, and the cops, usually portrayed as racial profilers, are black. Even when the plot details are a little scattershot, the tone sees them through. The present tense, however, is another matter. Not only don't Omar Epps, Taye Diggs, and Richard T. Jones work well together, offering different characterizations and group dynamics, but director/screenwriter Rick Fumiyawa makes a crucial error by shifting the movie's perspective. While the flashback is told through the eyes of Mike (Nelson/Epps), it's Diggs' relatively unfamiliar Roland who's getting married, leading to narrative inconsistency and thematic confusion. Given the weak link between the flashbacks and the present, and Fumiyawa's evident preference for re-creating another era, The Wood would have been smarter to live in the past. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Richard Haase - Art Director, Todd Boyd - Associate Producer, Momita Sengupta - Associate Producer, Mali Finn - Casting, Emily Schweber - Casting, Douglas Curtis - Co-producer, Darryle Johnson - Costume Designer, Don Wilkerson - First Assistant Director, Rick Famuyiwa - Director, John Carter - Editor, Van Toffler - Executive Producer, Pilar McCurry - Musical Direction/Supervision, Robert Hurst - Songwriter, Maxine Shepard - Production Designer, Roger Fortune - Production Designer, Steven Bernstein - Cinematographer, Ron Yerxa - Producer, Albert Berger - Producer, David Gale - Producer, Masako Masuda - Set Designer, F. Beauchamp Hebb - Set Designer, David Smith - Set Designer, Walter P. Anderson - Sound/Sound Designer, Rick Famuyiwa - Screen Story, Todd Boyd - Screen Story, Rick Famuyiwa - Screenwriter
As befitting a film that jumps from '80s junior high school flashbacks to the late '90s, the original soundtrack to The Wood features a diverse mix of vintage and contemporary R&B and hip-hop. The film's affectionate, humorous look at the coming of age of three African-American best friends is complemented by tracks like Biz Markie's "Make the Music with Your Mouth Biz," Cheryl Lynn's "If This World Were Mine" and Whodini's "Freaks Come out at Night," while the Roots' "Y'All Know Who!," R. Kelly's "It's All Good," and Blackstreet's "Think About You" reflect the trio's life in the '90s. DMX's "I Can, I Can," Marc Dorsey's "Crave," Imajin's "Love Letter," and a remix of Ahmad's "Back in the Day" are some of the other highlights from this appealing, eclectic soundtrack. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
DJ Cash Money (Scratching), Whodini (Performer), Cheryl Lynn (Performer), Luther Vandross (Arranger), Luther Vandross (Producer), Luther Vandross (Performer), Chris White (Vocals (Background)), Blackstreet (Performer), Ahmad (Producer), Ahmad (Performer), Ahmad (Remixing), R. Kelly (Performer), Joseph Allen (Producer), Timmy Allen (Vocals (Background)), Timmy Allen (Producer), Ant Banks (Mixing), Biz Markie (Arranger), Biz Markie (Performer), Randy Bowland (Guitar), Horace Brown (Vocals), Kenny Brown (Vocals), Kenny Brown (Vocals (Background)), Larry Campbell (Multi Instruments), Larry Campbell (Producer), Earl Cohen (Engineer), Earl Cohen (Mixing Assistant), Preston Crump (Bass), DMX (Performer), Tom Donovan (Engineer), Mannie Fresh (Producer), Mannie Fresh (Engineer), Mannie Fresh (Mixing), Trevis Johnson (Vocals (Background)), Rich Keller (Mixing), Kendal (Producer), Liberty City (Performer), Marley Marl (Arranger), Marley Marl (Producer), Marley Marl (Mixing), George Mayers (Engineer), George Mayers (Mixing), Julian McBrowne (Engineer), Julian McBrowne (Mixing), Night and Day (Arranger), Night and Day (Vocals (Background)), Night and Day (Producer), Night and Day (Performer), Organized Noize (Producer), Organized Noize (Drum Programming), OutKast (Performer), Neil Pogue (Mixing), Dale Ramsey (Mixing), Teddy Riley (Producer), Teddy Riley (Mixing), Paul Riser (String Arrangements), Michael Angelo Saulsberry (Strings), Michael Angelo Saulsberry (Horn), Anthony Saunders (Engineer), Jon Smeltz (Engineer), Jon Smeltz (Mixing), Gerard Smerek (Engineer), Scott Storch (Keyboards), Scott Storch (Producer), Maurice Thompson (Remixing), Too Short (Performer), Richard Travali (Mixing), UGK (Performer), Franz Verna (Engineer), Franz Verna (Mixing), Mystikal (Performer), Stanley Harris (Vocals (Background)), Jay Supreme (Remixing), The Roots (Performer), Larry Smith (Producer), Kevin Crouse (Engineer), Ron A. Shaffer (Mixing), Nat Adderley, Jr. (Arranger), Stan Jones (Guitar), Corey Rooney (Keyboards), Mike Scielzi (Assistant Engineer), Ralph Cacciurri (Engineer), Todd Parker (Assistant Engineer), Todd Parker (Mixing Assistant), Imajin (Performer), Daniel Kresco (Mixing Assistant), Jason Rome (Assistant Engineer), Suga Bear (Producer), Vada Nobles (Producer), Patrick Viala (Mixing), Jane Blaze (Performer), Marc Dorsey (Vocals (Background)), Marc Dorsey (Performer), Tone & Poke (Programming), Tone & Poke (Producer), Johnny Wychychs (Engineer), Johnny Wychychs (Mixing), Jay Mac (Guitar), Jay Mac (Keyboards), Jay Mac (Producer), Marvin "Chanz" Parkman (Synthesizer), Robert "Shim" Kirkland (Producer), Cash Money Millionaires (Performer), Sonji Mickey (Vocals (Background)), Earthtone III (Producer), Kamiah "Little Klang" Gray (Keyboards), Dale "Rambro" Ramsey (Mixing), Mike Ramsey (Mixing Assistant)
Mike (Omar Epps) tells the story of how he grew up in “The Wood”, Inglewood, California, with Roland (Taye Diggs)who is getting married and Slim (Richard T. Jones) where they went to school together. The story reminisces back to how they grew up in The Wood, Mike (Sean Nelson)'s first encounters with Roland (Trent Cameron) and Slim (Duane Finley), and his first real crush on a girl named Alicia (Malinda Williams).
When Mike was younger he touched Alicia's behind and it resulted into a big fight with her big brother Stacey (De'Aundre Bonds). When Mike and Slim go find Roland for his wedding, they get a call from Tanya (Tamala Jones) saying that she has him with her and that he is very drunk. They get to her house to pick him up to take him back to the wedding to marry his future wife Lisa (LisaRaye McCoy) because they only have two hours before the ceremony begins.
Back to their old school times, they go to their first dance of the year, go to a store the gets held up by Stacey (De'Aundre Bonds), and almost gets arrested by two cops while the three are riding in a car with Stacey. When they get back to the dance it is almost over and Mike gets to dance with Alicia and at the end of the dance he gets her number. In the meantime Roland gets sick, throws up and now they only have an hour left before the wedding and they have to get cleaned up, then they take their clothes to the cleaners. Mike returning back to their memories, they were now juniors in high school, thinking about sex, ways to get it and making a lot of bets. They finally make it to the ceremony to have Roland apologize to Lisa for leaving her worried before the wedding ceremony. Before the ceremony begins Mike sees Alicia (Sanaa Lathan) his childhood crush, and finally Roland and Lisa get married. Mike tells his last childhood memory, and its when they go to a homecoming dance for their school and that they will be the boys from “The Wood”.
Cast
Omar Epps as Mike, and he tells the story about how he and his friends grew up together in “The Wood”.
Richard T. Jones as Slim, he and Mike helps Roland get back to the ceremony to get married.
Taye Diggs as Roland, he is supposed to get married and has second thoughts about it and is found drunk by his two best friends.
Sanaa Lathan as Alicia, an old childhood friend that grew up and came back to see Mike.
LisaRaye McCoy as Lisa, a bride getting ready to marry Roland, and gets upset about his disappearance.
Sean Nelson as young Mike ,is new from North Carolina, and just moved to Inglewood at a new school and became friends with Roland and Slim.
Duane Finley as young Slim , raised up in “The Wood” best friends with Roland growing up and then meeting the new kid on the block Mike. He was always asking for Roland to hook him up.
Trent Cameron as young Roland, he is hip, fresh, and cool, gets all the ladies, and he gets no play most of the time.
Malinda Williams as young Alicia, she was hardcore, but sweet and in time she began to like Mike.
De'Aundre Bonds as Stacey, and is Alicia's big brother that takes up for her when she is younger. He also is in a gang and reps with set called “Bloods”.
Critical Reviews
Critical Consensus Critics Reviews Average Grade: B- culturevulture.net, "...there is substance given to the characters' lives." more... B- Nitrate Online, Cynthia Fuchs "...involves basic boy-bonding." more... C+ Orlando Weekly, Philip Booth "...a coming-of-age tale that's only occasionally too sweet." more... B- ReelViews, James Berardinelli "...a pleasant but relatively inconsequential movie..." more... B- More Critics Reviews...
A soundtrack was released on July 13, 1999 by Jive Records featuring rap and R&B music. The soundtrack found great success, peaking at #16 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and was certified gold by the RIAA on August 25, 1999.
