Baby Boy Details

Director John Singleton's companion piece to his career-making debut Boyz N the Hood falls way short of its predecessor's power, poignancy and perception. Set in South Central Los Angeles, the plot revolves around 20-year-old Jody (model Tyrese Gibson) who still lives at home with his mother and has fathered two children by different women. Much emphasis is placed on the notion that African-American males are so cosseted that they never confront reality until it's too late. But little attempt is made to explore Jody's psychological state, which might explain why he cheats on his girlfriend, lacks direction, is haunted by death — in the shape of gangsta rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg as a vengeful ex-con — and trades on his mama's goodwill. Consequently, fringe characters such as a streetwise buddy, Omar Gooding, and his mother's bruising boyfriend, Ving Rhames, prove far more interesting than the whiningly shallow Jody.

A drama that confronts the problems of masculine identity, single mothers and fatherless children in a black community; heavy-handed contrivance, though, robs it of much of its intended power.