Spoilers Im rating this movie a 3, but that being said, i have the DVD and i never change it when its on TV. I find the TV version even funnier than the uncensored. First about me, im a 25-30 year old White male that was not brought up with a difficult life. I say this cause I've read some other reviews that talk about how pin point this movie is. I hope to god they are wrong, there is not a level head in this movie. And none of the African Americans i am friends with, have ever acted anything like this.Jody (our main character) tries to act gangster, but clearly is soft. The movie gave me the feeling that if his friend "P" was not around, he probably would have a better life. But he looks up to his friend, who spews lines that are border line retarded, and Jody takes them like gospel. Jody treats his girlfriend/ baby momma (played by Taraji Henson) like crap. I am troubled by her acting in this movie, not sure if its lack of guidance from the director, or just her inexperience at the time. But later in her career she proves to be a great actress, just not here. "P" played by Omar Gooding, is an apple that was thrown from the tree. He needs to go back to Nickelodeon, and leave the grown up roles to his cousin, Cuba. Ving Rhames actually acts fine, just has a poorly written role. Now the reason i love this movie; Certain scenes, are so over the top, they are awesome. Jody, at one point gets punkd and beat up for his bike, by a bunch of school kids. Instead of manning up, he gets his friend "P" and gun, and make the kids stand there and take a beating at gunpoint. Which ends up with "P" spanking one like its his own child. Every scene with snoop dog has great one liners. And all these one liners are even better on the TV version, because the N Bomb gets substituted with "chicken". Towards the end of the movie, Snoop rolls up on Jody in a drive by, and once again Jody hits the fetal position, instead of fighting back. And cries cause he thought he was shot, but wasn't even close. There are many more scenes like these, but you need to just watch it. In summary, i rate this movie a three, but i love watching it. From an actual critical stand point, John Singleton should be embarrassed for this representation of Americans. best quote; snoop "I hate you too lil chicken"

Jody is a unemployed immature young man who isn't committed to anything or anyone but himself. He has two children out of wedlock he does not financially support. He leeches off his mother living at home. He tries to act like a gangster in the streets. That act does not fool anyone in his neighborhood. He's thought of as soft. His mother takes up with a veteran gangster called Mel. Jody feels left out as Mel becomes the man of the house. Mel tries to school Jody on how to be a real man. Jody doesn't take the lesson. Mel and Jody have a fight. It's like when a older stronger lion chases a weaker younger out the pride to fend for themselves. Jody is out on his own.He shacks up with one of his kids moms. She has some kind of relationship with a hard core gangster that beens in prison called Rodney. When Rodney comes home he causes problems for Jody. It's time for Jody to be a man and face this hard core gangster. Jody unable to kill him only wounds him, but it sends a strong enough message he will protect his own. Shook up and scared he turns to Mel who without words understands what Jody is going through. Mel uses his street mentality to put Jody back together and calm him. The two share a bond now. Jody leaves his mother's house to become a man on his own with one of his mother's children. The one he loves.Tyrese Gibson was stellar as Jody. Great performance. As a viewer I got caught up in his story because I thought he was an immature punk at times and felt sorry for him other times when Mel and Rodney backed him down. Ving Rhames gave a powerful showing as Mel. When he has Jody in a headlock letting him know what he would do to a weak man in prison was real to the bone. Ving Rhames commands every part he is in. Snoop Dogg was low down dirty Rodney. Snoop Dogg's best acting I've seen. He owned that part. He played the bad guy to perfection.John Singleton's best movie. Much better than Boyz n the Hood. More real and powerful with heart. I expected Mel was going to have to deal with Rodney. Singleton did not go that route and out smarted this viewer.

I was amazed by Baby Boy. I was totally amazed by this film. Baby Boy is a bit unflinching. For one thing, as the movie goes along, Jody, the protagonist of the movie, begins to seem vaguely unlikeable, perhaps even down-right bad. He does, perhaps, redeem himself by the end. There's a lot of conflict in the relationships in Jodys' life. Too many people trying to live in too small a space with probably not quite enough money to go 'round. I think I saw his mom as a victim and Jody as a bad-guy. Really, maybe it would be helpful if his mom were a more compassionate person too. Perhaps Jody is taking after his mom in the first place... donno I could see myself in the role of his moms' new boyfriend. A friend of mine was talking about something like this awhile back. He was saying, "you know, if I ever do get married, the lady's going to have kids of her own already." I swear; they based the guy in the movie 'The 40 Year Virgin' on my friend. I'm pretty much in the same situation - I mean - about dating ladies who already have kids. Baby Boy seems to lose something with repeated viewings tho perhaps it's the editing for TV. I was put off some by the moral tone of the movie. It seems somehow dehumanizing to assume Jody can only be a good person - if he's able to see himself in the shoes of his potential victim.

As a white person who doesn't live in 'the hood', I have a hard time identifying with the characters in this movie.Still, it was worth seeing for some very good performances. Ving Rhames as Jody's mother's boyfriend, Tyrese as Jody, Taraji Henson as Jody's girlfriend Yvette, A. J. Johnson as Jody's mother. Cuba Gooding's brother Omar is as talented as his brother. Even Snoop Dogg did a capable job as Yvette's former boyfriend. He couldn't compare with the fine performers around him, but he does have the potential for a career outside the rap world.I was amazed at how gentle Jody was with Yvette. The stereotype is for someone like him to be abusive, but he only came close when really pushed, and most of us would not be that patient. The writers didn't rely on easy solutions to problems, and people worked things out by making an effort.The nightmares and fantasies got annoying for me, and I believe the actors themselves did not know how the movie would end because all these different scenes were filmed. Still, it was well done overall.I'm so glad I saw a cleaned-up version, but the film was still quite potent. It's certainly not for kids.