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Melvin: That's what it's all about. Guns and butter, baby! You little dumb motherfuckers.
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Rodney: Jody? Nigga, you Jody? Vette ain't here, cuz. Come to get your son? Come get his muthafuckin' ass. I ain't trying to be his daddy no way.
[after Jody left]
Rodney: I can't *believe* this muthafucka had the audacity to come to *my* muthafuckin' house, after he done *talked* shit to me when I was locked up, *fucked* my bitch, had a baby by her. Man, get the heat, cuz. Fuck this nigga.
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Joe-Joe: I hate you.
Rodney: I hate you too little nigga you ain't my son.
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Juanita: Surprise me Jody and leave the nest.
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Rodney: Hello? Hello? Yvette?
Jody: Naw, nigga, this ain't no motherfuckin' Yvette!
Rodney: Put Yvette on the phone, nigga!
Jody: What? This my phone, nigga! Don't call my house no more!
Rodney: How the *fuck* is that yo' house, nigga? You don't even live there. Is this Jody? The Jody that got my boo pregnant and can't take care of his responsibilities as a muthafuckin' man? Livin' at yo' mamma house? Walking around the streets like a little ass boy? Nigga, you's a *bitch*!
Jody: What? Yo' ass in jail! You can't say nothin' about me and mine, homeboy. Look, don't call my *fuckin'* house no more! My girl ain't feeling you. It's not happening, cuz! Concentrate on not dropping the soap, you bitch-ass nigga!
Rodney: *Fuck* you, cuz!
[hangs up]
Jody: I want a block on my motherfucking phone tomorrow, Yvette.
Yvette: All right, Jody, damn!
Jody: Stupid ass.
Yvette: You stupid.
Jody: All on the phone spreading my business out there. He on the other end talking 'bout "Yeah, I know you live with yo' mamma." I don't wanna hear that shit!
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Sweet Pea: I'm not going to use the b-word. I just call y'all unstable creatures.
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Rodney: What's happening, baby? I'm home. Damn, what you got to eat in this motherfucker? Shit, I'm hungry as FUCK!
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Melvin: You know what your problem is, baby boy? You got shit all twisted. You got an Oedipus complex. You want your mamma to be your woman, but this is my woman. *My* woman!
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Amazon.com
A worthy companion piece to 1991's Boyz N the Hood, John Singleton's Baby Boy expresses compassionate but unforgiving criticism of young, African American black men who lead reckless, irresponsible lives while blithely blaming racism for their chronic disadvantage. That's already enough to make this a provocative and emotionally challenging film, but Singleton injects his drama with such passionate vitality that it never seems inflammatory; instead, in presenting this portrait of a confused and conflicted 20-year-old black man named Jody (Tyrese Gibson), Singleton is both affectionate and accusatory, lending Baby Boy an edgy, timeless wisdom that other, less courageous films could never hope to offer. Unemployed and living with his 36-year-old mother (A.J. Johnson), Jody has fathered children from two young mothers and seems destined for an early grave. He never knew his father, but his mother's new boyfriend Melvin (played to perfection by Ving Rhames) is an ex-con with streetwise maturity that Jody, in time, will come to recognize and respect. This generational dynamic is the lifeblood of Singleton's central theme; Jody can follow Melvin's example or fall into the trap of lawlessness personified by Rodney (Snoop Dogg), a violent gangsta who arrives to threaten Jody's tenuous chance at a respectable adulthood. Through a wealth of fine performances and blistering dialogue, Baby Boy presents hard questions with no easy answers, and although Singleton is prone to polemical melodrama, his blunt approach serves a noble and ultimately hopeful purpose. --Jeff Shannon
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