"Why are you so afraid to leave the nest?" Jody's mother (A.J. Johnson) asks
him. After all, he's a grown man with two families, having had babies out
of wedlock with two different women, but Jody (Tyrese Gibson) stays at home
with his mother. He reminds his mother, who doesn't look much older than he
does, that "her" home originally belonged to his grandmother.
The theme of BABY BOY is the way that society has encouraged black men to
never grow up. As proof of this thesis, we are reminded in voice-over of
the words that black men use to describe their world. Their girlfriends are
called their "mamas," their buddies are their "boys" and their home is their
"crib."
Jody's mother is about to start a live-in arrangement with Melvin (Ving
Rhames), an ex-con who recently spent ten years in San Quentin for "killing
folks and other stuff." Jody tries to be cool around Melvin, which isn't
always easy. "You have a good time, mama," Jody tells her on her first date
out with Melvin. "You remember your curfew." A bigger challenge comes when
Jody wakes one morning to find a buck-naked Melvin fixing eggs in the
kitchen. With Melvin's rippling muscles and big tattoos, this makes for an
impressive image. Quite upset that Melvin is devouring all of the Kool-Aid
-- notice the choice of a child's drink -- Jody wants to say something, but
criticizing Melvin does not seem like a promising idea.
Jody has ambitions. Figuring that humanity can be dichotomized into the
buyers and the sellers, he wants to be one of the latter since those are the
ones who become wealthy. In order to accomplish his version of the American
dream, he steals women's clothes from a wholesaler and sells them in the
neighborhood. With his sweet talking gift for gab, he's a natural for
closing deals with the women, who don't care that their new clothes will be
hot.
The film's recurring image is that of a grown man still in the womb.
Shocking and mildly cute at first, this is a visual that rapidly loses its
appeal.
Written and directed by John Singleton, who was responsible for the recent
SHAFT remake as well as one of my personal favorites, ROSEWOOD, BABY BOY
never rises above the level of a soap opera. Yes, it is a well made soap
opera, but not one that we care much about. Then again, some people can't
get enough of the TV soaps and dutifully set tapes to keep up with each
day's shenanigans.
BABY BOY runs 2:09. It is rated R for strong sexuality, language, violence
and some drug use and would be acceptable for older teenagers.
Copyright © 2001 Steve Rhodes
out of 4
