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Baby Boy | 2001 | R | - 9.6.10

Tyrese Gibson stars as a 20-year-old African-American man who's unemployed, has two children by two different women (he's married to neither) and is still living with his 36-year-old mother. Directed by John Singleton, the film follows Gibson's well-meaning but infantile character as he comes to somewhat of an awakening and tries to take responsibility for his life and actions. Also with Omar Gooding, A.J. Johnson, Snoop Dogg, Taraji P. Henson, Ving Rhames, Tamara LaSeon Bass, Kaylan Bolton, Kylan Bolton and Calvin Broadus. [2:08]

SEX/NUDITY 9 - There are several sex scenes often accompanied by very explicit sexual invitations and comments. There are also frank, explicit and often crude sexual conversations throughout, and lots of sexual innuendo and sexual insults. A naked couple is having sex very loudly, and we see them as the woman is on the man's lap with her legs around him, while he's hopping around the room. During this scene she's exclaiming and commenting excitedly that she "loves to ride"; her adult son hears them through his bedroom wall and becomes upset. During a few other sex scenes the participants are also naked (we see brief glimpses of the woman's breasts and the man's back and behind). In one scene the man is behind the woman while thrusting on a bed. In another scene both participants are clothed and the man is thrusting from behind as the woman is on the phone. In another scene we see the participants in various entanglements -- the scenes are cut very quickly into a montage; we see several shots of her bare breasts and the sides of their bodies. A couple is shown holding each other in bed; they're naked but the context is not sexual. We also see several shirtless men and one totally naked man from behind. A man sticks his tongue out and a woman briefly sucks on it. A woman asks to sniff a man's private parts and she lowers her head (off screen) while we hear his pants being unzipped. A woman begins to perform fellatio on a man (we only see his face while she's going at it); the man stops her. A man performs cunnilingus on a woman (we only see her face while he's going at it). A man attempts to rape a woman; her young son comes in the room and he stops (no nudity is visible). During a dream sequence we see a naked man (from the side) lying in a gigantic womb. There are several kisses, some of them passionate and deep. While trying to demonstrate how soft a fabric is, a man sensually caresses a woman's back. Several women are shown in very tight and revealing dresses, and one woman in her underwear. We see a few pictures of topless women, and talk of being at a strip club where women lap-dance. In a couple of scenes condoms are evident or talked about. A woman is shown leaving a clinic, after having had an abortion: She looks distraught. There are references to prison sex and rape.

VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - In a dream sequence a man sees a man being shot, and then sees the man's body on the ground (some blood is evident on the man's mouth). A man grabs another man from behind in a chokehold. Two men exchange punches, and one man flies back and falls on a glass coffee table which shatters. Several teenagers attack a man, throw him to the ground and start kicking him. He seems a bit bruised and dazed. Two men with guns threaten several teenagers, then line them up and punch each one in the face (one or two times each; the teens fall to the ground after each punch). They whip one teenager with some sort of stick or branch, several times. The scene is dark but it seems to last for a while and we hear the teen crying out in agony. A man and a woman slap each other, in sequence. We see the woman later with a black eye and the man complains that he's in pain too. There's a drive-by shooting. A man is shot and we see, in slow motion, the impact of two bullets on his chest. His shirt becomes somewhat bloody and he drops on the ground. We later realize that this didn't actually happen but perhaps he imagined it. Another man shoots at the speeding car several times. Two men chase a man while shooting at him. Several car windows and windshields are shattered by stray bullets. A man is shot in the knees and he falls down; a man shoots him execution style and we see the body lying in blood. A man attempts to rape a woman -- he smacks her a few times and throws her down on a bed. He stops after that, when her young son comes in the room.

LANGUAGE 10 - More than 130 F-words and F-word derivatives, some used sexually and many used aggressively. Many scatological terms, many anatomical terms, several religious profanities, and a few religious exclamations. Many racial slurs (primarily the N-word) are used by African-Americans for African-Americans (often affectionately).

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Illegitimate children, unemployment, promiscuity and casual sex, abortion, drug use (primarily marijuana), smoking, theft, revenge, murder, torture, incest and Oedipal issues.

MESSAGE - African-American males must start behaving like adults and take responsibility for their lives and behavior. Having children without having a family -- or the intention of creating one around them -- is a fact of contemporary life. Women often make too many compromises in order to have a relationship with a man.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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