Baby Boy

The third movie in director John Singleton’s “hood” trilogy (after Boyz in the Hood and Poetic Justice) studies a grown man (Tyrese Gibson) exhibiting some very child-like behavior (living in his mother’s house, behaving selfishly toward those that love him). It’s a good story, featuring excellent performances from Gibson, Taraji Patterson as one of his put-upon girlfriends and Ving Rhames as a reformed criminal. The film’s ending is flawed—a little too happy for what’s happened before it—but Singleton has provided a movie with crisp dialogue and winning performances. Snoop Dogg is creepy as a deadbeat ex-criminal.