Chandler - 12/14/12
Boyz 'N the Hood was probably a groundbreaking movie back in 1991, and I'm sure it was one of the first coming-of-age movies that shed light on issues within the projects and the poor black community. In fact, the U.S. congress designated the film "culturally significant" in 2002 and selected it to be preserved in the National Film Registry. This is a pretty big fucking deal for a movie.
When I watch older movies, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt based on the time period. But there's a limit to how much leeway I can give. And unfortunately, I watched BntH 21 years after it was released... and AFTER I'd already seen Friday and Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood multiple times.
Boyz 'N the Hood just doesn't age well. It's way too preachy and totally not believable. The music is so sappy I expected the Mailman from DbaMtSCWDYJitH to jump out and yell "Message!" every five minutes. Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and his father (Laurance Fishbrne) don't fit in at all, and both would have gotten their ass beat or shot during the 7-year segue. Tre's mother would also never have let her son grow up in South Central. The movie would have been better if they explored reasons why Tre had to move in with his dad, instead of just saying it was because he needed to "learn to be a man."
Bottom line... the life lessons are forced down your throat the entire movie. And it's predictable. Maybe the parodies ruined BntH for me, but I couldn't help but wish I was watching the Wayans brothers' version instead. And that's never a good thing.
Rating - 1
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Geoff - 12/14/12
If only I had a gun tucked into my belt... I would say to you "you gotta problem with this movie?" as I lifted up my shirt. This movie was the first of a genre, and in my opinion has yet to be matched. It's a story that hadn't been told before, and that makes it worth watching. Also, when BntH came out, Ice Cube was the biggest star in the movie. I like that.
Rating - 3
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