Boyz in the Hood (1991)

“Rick, it’s the Nineties. Can’t afford to be afraid of our own people anymore, man. ” – Furious Styles

Number of Times Seen – at least 3 times (Theater in ’91, cable in the 90’s and 1 Jun 2014)

Brief Synopsis – 2 Friends growing up on the streets of LA try to find a way to get out of the ghetto and make their lives meaningful.

My Take on it – This is a movie that brings back lots of memories for me. The first time I saw it was in the theater on a Saturday night for a 10pm showing.  The theater was about 30 minutes away and a group of friends and I decided to go see it.  I left the house and got there on time, but couldn’t find my friends anywhere, so I assumed they already went inside.  I ventured into the theater and my friends were no where to be found.  When I left the theater at midnight, I bumped into my friends who had decided mere minutes after I left the house that they couldn’t make that showing and that they would go see the midnight showing.  Being that most teenagers in 1991 didn’t have or even think they needed a cellphone, there was no way of letting me know that I should wait….ah, technology…. 🙂

Anyway, this movie was way ahead of the curve when it came out and still remains the best (perhaps) movies made about inner-city life in LA in the 80/90’s.

John Singleton in his directorial debut did a wonderful job using his own experiences and knowledge in making this movie seem as real as possible.

We can connect with the desires of all of the characters and also sympathize with their situations.

Singleton was nominated for a Best Director Oscar for this movie and remains the youngest nominee in that category ever at the tender age of 24.  He was also the very first African-American to be nominated for Best Director.

The unfortunate thing about how great this movie is, remains the fact that Singleton has never come close to achieving another movie so personal and gripping as he did with this one.

Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut are all great here and all of them contribute to making this movie a very powerful one.

Bottom Line – Very powerful movie. Singleton’s best movie by far perhaps because of his personal connection to the story and characters.  Highly Recommended!

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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