The Wood (1999)

Director:

Rick Famuyiwa

Writers:

Rick Famuyiwa (story) and
Todd Boyd (story) ...

Release Date:

16 July 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

From boyhood to manhood, you can always count on your best friends.

Plot:

While dealing with a friend's cold feet on his wedding day, a writer reminisces about his youth with his best friends.

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Friendship | Flashback | Talk To Camera | Dance

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Elayn Taylor	...	Roland's Mother
Omar Epps	...	Mike
Richard T. Jones	...	Slim
Sean Nelson	...	Young Mike
Duane Finley	...	Young Slim
Trent Cameron	...	Young Roland
Malinda Williams	...	Young Alicia
Patricia Belcher	...	Mrs. Hughes
Taye Diggs	...	Roland
Tamala Jones	...	Tanya
De'aundre Bonds	...	Stacey (as De'Aundre Bonds)
Cynthia Martells	...	Mike's Mother
Wyking Jones	...	Cashiers in Mini Mart
Geoffrey Blackshire	...	Cashiers in Mini Mart
Jascha Washington	...	Mike's Brother

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and some strong sexuality.

Runtime:

106 min | Germany:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Iceland:12 | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | France:U | Germany:12 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Inglewood, California, USA

Company:

Bona Fide Productions

Trivia:

In a recent visit to USC, his alma mater, Rick Famuyiwa revealed that Paramount executives wanted the character of Mike to pinch Alicia's buttocks in the end scene for added laughs. Needless to say, Famuyiwa balked at this and never shot this. The opening Steadicam shot took almost an entire day to shoot.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mike is helping escort Roland from Tanya's apartment he is also holding a coffee mug. When he turns around to say something to Tanya he's all of a sudden holding the coffee pot instead.

Quotes:

Young Slim: Ms. Hughes, what page fifteen on?

Movie Connections:

References "The Jerry Springer Show" (1991)

Soundtrack:

I Can

Refreshingly Realistic, Well Acted, Light Hearted Laughs

The most refreshing aspect of this movie is the mere fact that the three main African American characters are not : drug dealers, wise cracking officers of the law, pimps, womanizing alcoholics, bums, etc.

However, they are also not annoyingly wholesome. These three guys are real people with real problems. I'm not saying that the previously mentioned stereotypes don't exist, but I'm sick of being beat over the head with stereotypes while at the same time being told how evil stereotyping is.

This is the coming of age story of three black kids growing up in a suburb of Southern California. I don't know if Rick Famuyiwa is black or not, but he can write excellent black dialogue. Contrary to popular belief, most black people do not say f*** seven times in every sentence and this film acknowledges and respects that fact. The film does drag at points, but there are definitely big laughs and the flashbacks taking place in the mid 1980's are beautifully done. One almost feels that the film should have been shot as one long flashback sequence.

All in all, I feel that this is a great movie for people of any color to see. The movie is rated R, but it's very light hearted and aside from some language that any child over the age of ten has been exposed to, and one very funny and non-graphic sex scene, there's nothing offensive. I am inclined to think that African Americans have come to expect nudity, explicit sex, and violence in movies aimed at them, and some might ironically be disappointed by the cheerful mood of the movie. I hope that I'm wrong.

This is an American Pie-ish movie that you won't be ashamed to show your kids (or your parents) and a Soul Food-ish movie that your kids will actually enjoy. An excellent first movie for Rick Famuyiwa and a nice change of pace in black cinema.