History Film / BabyBoy

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Quite a few. Jody first has one of these after he [[spoiler: slaps Yvette during a heated argument that results in a brief breakup]]. [[spoiler: Melvin]] has one as well, late in the film, after a violent confrontation with [[spoiler: Jody]]. Afterwards, he tearfully admits that it was a mistake. Lastly, after [[spoiler: Rodney is killed by Sweetpea in retaliation for his rape attempt on Yvette but Jody is so overwhelmed with guilt and remorse that he attempts suicide. Luckily, Melvin catches him in the act and takes away his gun.]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Film/BoyzNTheHood''.

* TeenPregnancy: Juanita had Jody while still a teenager.

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Jody and Sweet Pea turn off the power to Yvette's apartment while Rodney is alone inside and ambush him when he comes out to check it, ultimately gunning him down in the streets. It's implied that Yvette was in on this scheme. None of them are shown facing any repercussions. The same goes for beating up the little gangsters that jumped Jody, though in their case, [[KickTheSonOfABitch they actually had that coming to them]].]]

** It is also implied that Yvette had JoJo at a similar age.

* MurderTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler:Rodney repeatedly attempts to murder Jody over him hooking up with Yvette during his time in jail. Thankfully, [[LaserGuidedKarma he ends up being brutally murdered himself]] by Sweetpea]].

* NotWhatItLooksLike: Jody comes to Yvette's apartment to pick up Jojo and [[spoiler:sees Rodney and his goons lounging around, who then threaten him as he leaves]]. Considering this happens not too long after [[spoiler:he finds out that Yvette wrote and spoke to Rodney in prison, even asking for money from Jody to get her car repaired]], Jody's reaction is pretty justified, but [[spoiler:Rodney actually forced his way into the apartment and refuses to leave, especially with his new vendetta against Jody]].

* ShoutOut: Tupac Shakur was originally going to star as Jody, but was infamously murdered before production got underway. The film pays homage to him to referring to him as Jody's older (and murdered) brother Ray-Ray and having a huge mural of him in Jody's room as well as other family photos showing Tupac in this role.

* ChildSupplantsParent: Lampshaded. Melvin suggests that Jody suffers from this, given his evident resentment of Melvin's presence. The film makes it clear that Melvin is mostly right.

* RuleOfSymbolism: Jody is constantly referred to as "[[ArcWords baby]] [[TitleDrop boy]]", reflecting his immaturity for a man in his early 20s. Many of his behaviors such as eating candy, watching cartoons, and his reliance and protectiveness over his mother are all typically seen as infantile. He is also bald, not unlike a newborn baby. Finally, there's the very opening scene of Jody, completely naked, in a giant womb, being birthed by his mother.

* ScaryBlackMan: Juanita's new boyfriend Melvin appears like this to Jody for much of the film, but in truth, he only has the best intentions. Of course, he is played by Creator/VingRhames.

* SuspiciouslyAproposMusic: Jody and Jojo listen to the song “Just a Baby Boy” as they ride in the car near the beginning.

* KickTheDog: Or more accurately, Kick the Fort. Rodney kicks down his ex-girlfriend's son's pillow fort, to drive home that he is not at all a pleasant guy.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: While Jody and Sweet Pea punching out the little gangsters (as well as Pea whooping the remaining one with his belt) does seem quite extreme, they honestly had it coming to them after they stole Jody's bike and liquor and jumped him early on.

* OedipusComplex: Lampshaded. Melvin suggests that Jody suffers from this, given his evident resentment of Melvin's presence. The film makes it clear that Melvin is mostly right.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Melvin, despite most appearances, is a pretty good dude who treats Jody's mom very well...and bones her well too, if the "African Squat" scene is anything to go by

* PaperTiger: Jody attempts to intimidate Melvin out of the house. Melvin's response, predictably, is to act like he's leaving, causing Jody to tell him to leave under his breath... then suddenly put him in a chokehold. When Jody tries to summon his mother, Melvin proceeds to mock him and call him a "chocolate bitch".

* GreenEyedMonster: The whole love triangle is guilty of this. Jody believes that [[spoiler:Yvette is replacing him with Rodney now that he's out of jail and in her apartment (uninvited)]]. Yvette is incredibly insecure and paranoid since Jody regularly cheats with other women behind her back, even having a daughter from another relationship, which makes her overanalyze just about anything Jody does or says he's going to do, believing he's banging another girl. Rodney quickly gets bad blood with Jody once he bickers with Jody over the phone, even prior to the events of the movie as he heard that Jody hooked up with Yvette as he was locked up, even having a baby by her.

Music/TupacShakur's "Hail Mary" plays in one scene and he was set to star in the movie [[ActorExistenceFailure before his murder]].

[[quoteright:288:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Baby_Boy.jpg]]

->''There's this psychiatrist...a lady named Dr. Frances Cress Welsing. She has a theory about the black man in America. She says that because of the system of racism, the black man has been made to think of himself as a baby...a not yet fully formed human being who has not realized his full potential. To support her claim, she offers the following: First...what does a black man call his woman? Momma. Second, what does a black man call his closest acquaintances? His boys. And finally, what does a black man call his place of residence? The crib.''
-->-- Opening narration

''Baby Boy'' is a 2001 movie directed by Creator/JohnSingleton as a sort of follow-up to his smash ''Film/BoyzNTheHood'', and while it wasn't as acclaimed, it still received generally positive reviews.

The movie concerns Joseph "Jody" Summers (Creator/TyreseGibson), a young, selfish, immature black man in South Central LA who wants to live large but doesn't have a job. He's got two children by two different women, Yvette (Creator/TarajiPHenson) and Peanut (Tamara [=LaSeon=] Bass), and has been living with his mother Juanita (Adrienne-Joi Johnson) for several years. As Jody deals with the increasing pressures of adult responsibility, he also contends with his troubled best friend Sweetpea (Omar Gooding) and new adversary Rodney (Music/SnoopDogg), Yvette's ex-boyfriend. And then there's his mother's new live-in boyfriend Melvin (Creator/VingRhames), a well meaning reformed gangster who Jody openly disrespects and ridicules. Melvin agrees with Juanita that her son should grow up, move out, and move on.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Melvin and Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea may be a violent hothead but he and Jody are as close as brothers and will stand by him to the bitter end. Meanwhile, Melvin is madly in love with Juanita and wants to make her happy. He genuinely cares for Jody, in spite of their hostile relationship, and tries to offer him real world advice in hopes of inspiring Jody to finally grow up.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Quite a few. Jody first has one of these after he [[spoiler: slaps Yvette during a heated argument that results in a brief breakup]]. [[spoiler: Melvin]] has one as well, late in the film, after a violent confrontation with [[spoiler: Jody]]. Afterwards, he tearfully admits that it was a mistake. Lastly, after [[spoiler: Rodney is killed by Jody and Sweetpea in retaliation for his rape attempt on Yvette but Jody is so overwhelmed with guilt and remorse that he attempts suicide. Luckily, Melvin catches him in the act and takes away his gun.]]

** [[spoiler:Jody kicking Yvette out of his mother’s house, after she came to pick up Jojo, in the pouring rain, since he believes she left him to get back with Rodney]].

* ArcWords: Doubles as a TitleDrop. Several characters (namely Sweetpea and Melvin) refer to Jody as “baby boy”, a not-too-subtle reference to Jody’s immaturity and refusal to grow up, likening him to a child. He also listens to the song “Just a Baby Boy” by [[Music/SnoopDogg Snoop]] [[CelebrityParadox Dogg, Tyrese]], and Mr. Tan while in the car with his son Jojo.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Pea's character arc and epiphany is started and hinted at, respectively, as early as the "Guns and Butter" scene. While Jody's back is faced towards Melvin and he clearly isn't interested in what he has to say, Melvin is facing towards him and seems to be genuinely moved by his speech.

** Melvin, while sometimes clearly trying to mess with Jody, is entirely justified for wanting Jody to finally grow up, as he is unemployed, doesn't have his own car, has two children, is constantly sleeping around on his girlfriend, and continuously acts condescending towards Melvin for the crime of being his mother's new boyfriend.

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Jody and Sweet Pea turn off the power to Yvette's house while Rodney is alone inside and ambush him when he comes out to check it, ultimately gunning him down in the streets. It's implied that Yvette was in on this scheme. None of them are shown facing any repercussions. The same goes for beating up the little gangsters that jumped Jody, though in their case, [[KickTheSonOfABitch they actually had that coming to them]].]]

** [[spoiler:Jody kicking Yvette out of his mother’s house, after she came to pick up Jojo, in the pouring rain, since he believes she's leaving him for Rodney]].

* ManChild: Jody is around 20 years old, still lives with his mother, and doesn't have his own car. He constantly drives Yvette's car.

* MurderTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler:Rodney repeatedly attempts to murder Jody over him hooking up with Yvette in his absence. Thankfully, [[LaserGuidedKarma he ends up being brutally murdered himself]] by Sweetpea]].