The Wood
Tags: flashback

Plot synopsis:
Roland (Taye Diggs) is getting married (and is currently missing) and Slim (Richard T. Jones), who scoffs at the idea of marriage, is furious at Roland for disappearing. The story reminisces back to Mike's (Omar Epps, portrayed as a youth by Sean Nelson) first encounters with Roland (Trent Cameron) and Slim (Duane Finley), his first real crush on a girl named Alicia (Malinda Williams), and the three young men's misadventures as teenagers growing up in 1980s Inglewood, California ("The Wood"). Shy and awkward, Mike sticks out like a sore thumb on his first day, but is quickly befriended by Slim and Roland.
On a dare from Slim and Roland, Mike runs and grabs Alicia's butt, leading to a big fight with her big brother Stacey (De'Aundre Bonds), a Blood gang member. While he is thoroughly beat down, Mike earns Stacey's private respect for fighting back like a man. Meanwhile in present day, Mike and Slim go to find Roland for his wedding, when they get a call from Tanya (Tamala Jones) saying that she has him with her and that he is very drunk. They go to her house to pick him up to take him back to the wedding to marry his bride Lisa (LisaRaye McCoy) because they only have two hours before the ceremony begins.
Back to their old school times: on their way to their first dance of the year they go to a store that gets held up by Stacey, who recognizes the boys and offers them a ride to the dance. The boys almost get arrested by two cops due to Stacey's broken taillight. Mike's quick thinking prevents one of the cops from finding Stacey's gun and they are let go not realizing that the hold-up Stacey and Boo did is what gotten them off the hook. Impressed, Stacey begins a new friendship with Mike by apologizing for their prior run in but explains that he was protecting his sister, and, seeing how much Mike likes her, gives him advice on how to win her heart. When they get back to the dance it is almost over and Mike gets to dance with Alicia and at the end of the dance gets her number. Mike and Alicia started dating for three weeks in junior high and then stayed friends. In the present day while reminiscing, Roland gets sick and throws up all over Slim and Mike. Now they only have an hour left before the wedding and they have to get cleaned up so they take their clothes to the cleaners. Mike, returning to their memories when they were juniors in high school remembers them thinking about sex, ways to get it and making a lot of bets as to who has it first. Mike has a girlfriend and Alicia has a boyfriend. Despite both of them already in a relationship with somebody else, one day Mike and Alicia walk to her house from the library talking about the Homecoming Dance. They hear the first song they danced to remember their first kiss. They begin to have sex but stop because Mike's condom breaks. Alicia tells Mike that Stacey should have a condom in his room. Mike finds a condom in Stacey's room and has to hide under his bed so as not to get caught when Stacey and his girlfriend come home. After they leave, Mike goes back to Alicia's room and they finally make love. Mike wins the bet but he doesn't tell Roland and Slim out of respect for Alicia. Mike, now hiding his still present shyness with a veil of over confidence, reconnects romantically with Alicia. It's revealed in the present that after high school, Alicia and Mike went their separate ways. The boys finally make it to the wedding and Roland apologizes to a furious Lisa for leaving her worried. Before the ceremony begins, Mike sees Alicia (Sanaa Lathan). Roland and Lisa get married. Mike tells his last childhood memory, and its when they go to a homecoming dance for their school and that they will be the boys from "The Wood".

Review: As they drive around, sober him up and dry clean their suits for the wedding, they take time to uncover why he has doubts and also take a trip down memory lane and where they grew up in Inglewood.Having seen several films on the trot where race is used to `comic' effect in a string of endless racist jokes it was refreshing to sit and watch a film where the cast were almost 100% black but the story was not told in relation to the colour of it's characters.
Of course there is a thread of black culture running through the film but it is simply there as opposed to being the focus.The story is slight and not totally together but it is interesting.
Some of the strands don't totally come to a close and the fact that the main plot (Roland going missing on his wedding day) is mostly a side issue is a distraction but not to a detrimental point.The cast are all pretty good.
Diggs is good looking but he doesn't act as well as he can for much of the movie  his `drunk' acting is pretty poor although he gets better as he sobers up.
The teenage actors all carry themselves well, although in this modern tabloid world of hysteria it is a little uncomfortable to watch two young teenagers have sex (although I was relieved to find that the sexy one of them, Malinda Williams, was actually 24 when she played a 14 year old).
The women are all very good looking but have lesser roles as the males take the meat of the story  Tamala Jones is good and Epps' co-star from Love & Basketball (Sanaa Lathan) joins him for a brief role.Overall it is a very light film that has a plot in a very basic sense but is really more of a nostalgic trip down the teenage years that is told with honesty and humour.
The movie actually takes place on the wedding day of one of the friends and two hours before the ceremony, the groom is a no-show.
The other two friends manage to track him down and proceed to bring him back.As they bring the groom back to the wedding, the three begin to discuss old times and throughout the movie, flashback is used to show these experiences.
The acting by all the characters is superb and the flashback technique is used beautifully.The movie shows the relationships develop over the years through the eyes of one of the characters (Michael) and the humor is sprinkled throughout the movie in well placed and well timed deliveries.
Roland(Diggs) is about to get married, but chickens out and goes over an old girlfriends house instead.Then Mike(Epps) and Slim(Jones) are sent over there to go get him before the wedding.
This movie is better than movies of the same theme(The Best Man, The Brothers, etc.) because the male leads are more likable and less one dimensional, although Rolands reasons for not wanting to get married aren't explained enough.
Also, the girl that plays young Alicia is way too old for the role.Bottom line, the narrative by Epps is good and it's not riddled with stereotypes.
I had heard from several people before watching this movie that it was not as good as Omar Epps' other work, movies like "Higher Learning" and "First Time Felon".
Back In The Day. This movie is funny as hell and something that people living through the 80's can relate to growing up.
I think The Wood is a refreshing taste to all the depressing so called "black" movies.
Instead three young, talented black actors:(Epps, Diggs, Jones) paint a funny, but realistic picture of what its like for kids growing up and all of their experiences.
(Anyone who thinks otherwise should consider other "great" movies in which no minorities are included.) Overall, The Wood is a good movie with a story line that can be related to people of many different backgrounds and not just blacks.
That is why, in my opinion, I think The Wood is a great movie.
Jones on making Hollywood see that young black actors can carry a movie in convincing fashion from beginning to end..
The Wood starring Omar Epps, Taye Diggs, Sean Nelson, Melinda Williams, De' Aundre Bonds and Antwon Tanner was a perfect positive black film that deserves alot of credit.
Unlike The Best Man, it doesn't have a boring pre-wedding story - actually it's a lot of fun as the three friends talk about their fun childhood in 'The Wood' a.k.a Inglewood, California.
The flashback scenes are done so nicely and the characters are written in detailed fashion and come across very realistically.When I first seen the trailer I was like it would probably be an O.K. movie but it was alot better than I could possibly expect and turns out to be a big winner, this is a sleeper for 199910/10.
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.
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.
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.
An excellent first movie for Rick Famuyiwa and a nice change of pace in black cinema..
I know how it feels to be left out like some of the characters and growing up is a fact of life and I liked the way they show their friendship growing by day.
Taye Diggs was wonderful as the groom who was having doubts, I liked his character a lot.
A great movie of African American friendship in the 80's..
All those young adults who grew up will really like this movie, too.I thought it was excellent, and many parts made me laugh so hard I cried.
Any movie that effectively delivers the main point of the story, and does so with strong conviction and entertaining plot twists, gets a full rating in my book.
The Wood tells a story of three childhood friends and how their encounters and experiences through life has fortified their friendship.
Seeing him play in The Wood the younger version of Mike, you wonder if he truly lived in 1985/86?This movie was worth my 20 dollars and I've seen it probably 20-30 times since I own it.
It ranks in my list of quality Black Urban movies, among The Best Man, Love Jones and Love & Basketball.
Jones) are preparing,when there best friend Roland(Taye Diggs) is getting married.
Rated R for Language and Some Sexuality The Wood is a pretty unknown film starring Omar Epps and Taye Diggs.The film is in two parts and the film goes back and forth between the two parts.The first part is about a man who has cold feet on his wedding day, so his two childhood friends go looking for him, find him and try talking him into marrying the girl.While doing so, they reminisce about their childhood and how they met.This second part of the film is basically a coming of age teen film which can be compared to the 1978 Isreali film Lemon Popsicle.Both films have funny sexual situations involving teenagers and a good amount of drama and romance as well.The film is very funny in parts but also has a lot of heart.Its a pretty unknown film but if you can find it, watch it, its a very good film..
It was good to see that this movie is something men and women of all races can relate too.
Omar Epps, Taye Diggs and Richard Jones take me back to my youth while telling the intended adolescent stories.
Black, white, whatever your race is, you can relate to this film (if you're a man that is).
The importance of breath mints, the fear of asking a girl for a dance (and fear of erection during), the excitement of being seniors, the concern of losing your virginity, the pressure of being cool even with your own friends, the magic of getting a girl's number, the panic during close calls with the police, the nerves on the first day at a new school, unexpected friendships, dancing like no one is watching, the wrath of a bully, the camaraderie that can only come after being friends for years...
The movie is about friendship, three guys Slim, Mike and Roland, and how this friendship evolves from being a friendship consisting of three boys, to a friendship consisting of three men.
In the movie you follow Roland who is about to get married, and he is getting cold feet, his two friends Mike and Slim are there to try and get him out of the trouble he has caused for himself.The movie works in 2 different time tables, one where they are boys and one where they are men, you see them meet and evolve their friendship, and see how they became so close friends.
A brilliant way to make you feel the passion between these three friends, a very touching movie, as I write this I'm still touched by the ending.The acting is ranging from average to strong, I especially like Omar Epps acting, a very good actor indeed.In my opinion definitely worth a watch, do however not expect Oscar performance, since the actors are not Oscar material in my opinion.rated 7,5/10 (would give it 7, but added 0,5 because it touched me so much).
It's urban based but I think all young people can relate to something in the flashbacks told in this film.
I attended LaTijera, k-8th grade and watching the scenes that were taped on campus really brought back some great memories.This movie was so true to life, It's the first and only film I can think of that portrays the three young boys coming of age in a frank and honest light.
"The Wood" really was a great movie,anyone who's interested in seeing it,should..
Quite frankly, it was a piece of trash, because like most films about Black teenagers, it made African-American males look like nymphomaniacs.
The true focus of this film -- and what makes it so good -- is the friendship of Mike, Roland and Slim.
The Wood is a great movie with good performances by Omar Epps, Richard T.
The Wood is a good movie that was cleverly directed and very entertaining and enjoyable.
Thankfully for the viewer that never happened with The Wood.Famuyiwa co-wrote and directed a superlative movie that could, without undo exaggeration,  be a benchmark for future directors of these types of films.
This movie aspired to be great, and kudos to producers for creating a more upbeat film about American Black culture.
Omar Epps' character, the most honest of the three friends and the who always plays the peacemaker, is the most compelling one in the whole movie.
However, this movie fails to take off and manifest itself as a really good coming of age story.
I love The Wood because even though I didn't grow up in as rough a place as Inglewood, CA, I can still relate to the situations in this movie.
I am an aspiring actor and movies like this make me look forward to the experience of acting on the big screen even more.
The Wood is a very pleasurable and funny film that takes me back in time to my younger years.
All of the events that Roland,(Taye Diggs)Mike,(Omar Epps)and Slim (Richard T Jones) had happen to them were occurrences we all can relate too.Certainly as a male, I can recall getting a "hard on"(erection)  at exactly the wrong time, I remember how scared one can become sitting in class watching the clock knowing you will be involved in a fight after school lets out;and as funny as this scene was portrayed in the movie, believe me it wasn't funny at the time.
In a well depicted and comical way, this movie takes us back to the days of old, but instead of whatever home town you may be from, The Wood gives it to us Inglewood California style.
Movie tells about 3 buddies from grade school, and their trials and tribulations growing up in the "wood" - inglewood.
The parts of the movie that is shown in flashback-while the three friends were growing up, has some very funny moments.
An excellent film with a story everyone can relate to..
This film, although it presents itself as a simple happy-go-lucky story in its trailers, is truly a well-written, well-acted, and easy to relate to coming of age story about three African American men who have grown up together on the streets of Inglewood, CA.
"The Wood" tells two interleaved stories of three young black best friends in Inglewood, CA.
An okay watch for those into best-friends or coming-of-age comedies about black males.
The Wood is a funny and heartwarming coming of age film that uses its all star cast effectively instead of wasting them like movies these days tend to do.The Story: Roland(Taye Diggs) is having cold feet on his wedding day and his friends, Mike(Omar Epps) and Slim(Richard T.
Mike recalls how he first met Slim and Roland and his childhood love Alicia(Malinda Williams).Taye Diggs, Omar Epps and Richard T.
There are a lot of funny moments in this movie(when Mike gets beat up by Alicia's brother, The vomit scene,Mike dancing with a plush toy bunny and the dance scene when Mike rises to the occasion and tries to play it off) and some warm moments.What I like the most about The Wood is its brutal honesty.
Though I've seen The Wood in .gif sets and random mentions, due to it being released during the great Black renaissance of film in the 90s, it was never really on my radar.
Making you wonder if The Wood just got swept up because there was so many good movies that what it provided was more so normal than exemplary, or if maybe it was a disappointment?
Hence why despite Omar Epps, Taye Diggs, and Sanaa Lathan being in it, their other movies from the 90s are the go to ones when you bring their names up.Characters & StoryThe story splits the focus between Mike (Omar Epps/ Sean Nelson), Slim (Richard T.
Though when the film focuses on the past, Roland isn't the featured character but Mike.
Which leads to an about even split between the movie focusing on Roland's problems in the present, and Mike's relationship with his boys, as well as his love interest Alicia (Sanaa Lathan/ Malinda Williams).
Making for an interesting take on the coming-of-age sub- genre.PraiseBefore I watched this movie, I didn't see The Wood as one of the best films with a Black majority cast, from the 90s or ever, but I felt my opinion was instantly changed as soon as the jokes started rolling in.
One which likely suffered some trials and tribulations, but overall I don't think these men could think of anyone else they would want to share their joy or pain with.As for their younger selves, to me that is where the best parts of the movie come from.
If just because it seems so rare to find coming of age stories featuring young Black or Brown people which doesn't have heavy handed topics like we saw in Precious or Pariah.
These young men are just horny teens who want to get with a cute girl, and for Mike, make love to the one who really mattered.CriticismLeading to perhaps the sole issues I have with this movie: Taye Diggs and the storyline of the adult versions of Mike, Slim and Roland.
If just because Mike is the focus of their early years together and during that time Roland, much less Slim, aren't developed to the point you feel like you should give a damn about them as adults.
Especially when, after who knows how many years, Mike is getting to see Alicia for the first time.
And, in all honestly, despite The Best Man coming out after this movie, this honestly seems like the type of film which wasted a good story that Malcom D.
Especially when you add in this idea of the best man trying to make sure one of their close friends make it to the alter; however, between the kids having a better story than the adults, and Roland being a terrible focus considering how much Mike was built up, I have to label this as TV Viewing.
Also, you will see yourself in Taye Diggs' character, who feels scared about getting married when the day comes-- after all, which man on earth doesn't panic in that situation?
Not only the good script is what makes this movie so pleasant; it is interpreted by a whole great cast, with highlights to Taye Diggs and Malinda Williams.
Back In the Day Favorite Movies This movie was an absolute joy; one of the best black films I have seen in a long time.
This movie just put together a whole bunch of good looking black people into a story that's not about violence or any kind of negativity, just pure fun; it's what life is all about for those of us who appreciate but can't fully relate to life in the hood.
The story was great; the acting was convincing, the plot was realistic and it's a movie I will always think about with a huge grin on my face.