The film was originally written with rapper-actor Tupac Shakur in mind to play Jody; Shakur had previously worked with Singleton on Poetic Justice. However, following Shakur's murder in 1996, Singleton decided to replace Shakur with R&B artist Tyrese Gibson. Additionally, the role of Rodney was originally written for Ice Cube, who had worked with Singleton on Boyz n the Hood and Higher Learning. The film marked the feature acting debut of Gibson and provided Henson with her first prominent role.
Released in the United States on June 27, 2001, the film received predominantly positive reviews from critics and audiences, with many deeming it as Singleton's best film since Boyz n the Hood. The film is also the final feature film written by Singleton as he did not write any of his later feature-length directorial projects before his death in April 2019.
Plot
Joseph "Jody" Summers waits for his girlfriend Yvette at an abortion clinic after compelling her to go. They then have a heated argument about his lack of commitment and selfishness; she asks him if he will ever come live with her and their son JoJo, but he deliberately avoids the subject and comes and goes as he pleases.
Meanwhile, Jody also continues having affairs with other women, including a young girl named Peanut, with whom he also has a daughter, Lil' Nut. Jody also nearly has sex with Pandora, Yvette's colleague and co-worker, but manages to rebuff her advances. When Yvette discovers his cheating, their ensuing argument eventually turns physical, culminating in her kicking him out of her home.
Yvette's gangster ex-boyfriend Rodney is released from San Quentin State Prison and returns to the neighborhood to move in with Yvette. However, Rodney does not care for JoJo and wants to impregnate Yvette himself, but when Rodney attempts to rape Yvette in front of her son, he stops himself out of guilt. Despite their previous issues, Yvette begins to realize she still loves Jody.
Jody’s mother Juanita finds marijuana in her garden and blames him, who then angrily blames her new boyfriend Melvin, an ex-convict. Melvin comes home, admits to Juanita that he planted it and apologizes. An upset Jody argues with his mother before getting into an argument with Melvin, which ends with Melvin punching him and breaking a table.
Frustrated, Jody leaves the house to see his friend Sweetpea. Soon after, Yvette kicks Rodney and his friends out of her apartment. Eventually, Yvette and Jody reconcile at Sweetpea's house, and Yvette tells Jody about how Rodney tried to rape her in front of JoJo. Rodney then steals Yvette’s money and keys from her wallet and drives off in her car to go and find Jody, whom he unsuccessfully tries to kill in a drive-by shooting.
Later that night, Jody and Sweetpea confront Rodney, and as he attempts to escape, Jody shoots him in the back of his legs. Sweetpea urges Jody to kill Rodney, but he refuses, and so Sweetpea shoots and kills Rodney himself with four shots. Horrified by Rodney's death, Jody prepares to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head, but Melvin stops him before taking the gun. After reflecting on Rodney's death and how his absence endangered her and JoJo, Jody finally decides to move in with Yvette.
Jody then accepts that Juanita's relationship with Melvin is stable, and that he needs to protect and care for his own family. Afterward, Jody and Yvette get married and look forward to the birth of their unborn child. Meanwhile, Sweetpea decides to get baptized and abandon his old life as a criminal.
Singleton makes an uncredited cameo as a bootlegger who attempts to sell pirated DVDs to Jody and Sweetpea, while his mother Sheila Ward plays a mourner in the dream sequence where Jody sees himself at his funeral. Additionally, his daughter Cleopatra Singleton appears in the beginning of the film as Lil' Nut, Jody's daughter with Peanut.[6]
Reception
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $8,606,403 in 1,533 theaters in the United States, averaging $5,614 per theater, and ranking #5 at the box office. It grossed a total of $28,734,552 domestically and $647,097 elsewhere for a total of $29,381,649, above its $16 million production budget.[3]
Critical response
Baby Boy received positive reviews from critics and has a rating of 71% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 93 reviews with an average score of 6.2/10. The consensus states "Preachy and repetitive in parts, Baby Boy still manages to exude authenticity, thanks to its competent cast."[7] The film also has a score of 55 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 26 critics indicating 'Mixed or average reviews'.[8]
Roger Ebert gave the film 3½ stars out of 4 and stated in his review: "Baby Boy is a bold criticism of young black men who carelessly father babies, live off their mothers and don't even think of looking for work. It is also a criticism of the society that pushes them into that niche. There has never been a movie with this angle on the African-American experience" and "[it] doesn't fall back on easy liberal finger-pointing. There are no white people in this movie, no simplistic blaming of others; the adults in Jody's life blame him for his own troubles, and they should."[9]
Kenneth Turan, film critic for the Los Angeles Times, praised the film for being "...Compelling.... heartfelt and personal..." Jonathan Rosenbaum of Chicago Reader also liked the film, stating "Like John Singleton's other features, this is far from flawless.... But the characters are so full-bodied and the feelings so raw and complex that I'd call this the best thing he's done to date..."[10]
Director John Singleton was very proud of the movie: "It was just soulful, I made a movie that I wanted to be as soulful as a Marvin Gaye record. That was my goal for better or worse. Not necessarily a perfect film, but just something that you watch, it’s memorable. That’s what I love about that movie."[13]
