Of Boys and Men (2008)

Director:

Carl Seaton

Writer:

Michelle Amor (writer)

Release Date:

2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Robert Townsend stars as the patriarch of a family devastated when his wife is killed in a senseless auto accident. Reeling with grief, each family member must find courage and vision to carry on, ultimately eager to do the mother proud. |

Plot Keywords:

Courage | Grief | Husband Wife Relationship | Death | Accidental Death

Cast

Robert Townsend	...	Holden Cole
Angela Bassett	...	Rieta Cole
Victoria Rowell	...	Aunt Janay
Bobb'e J. Thompson	...	Little D
Scott Baity Jr.	...	Deshon
Vince Green	...	Terrell
Ja'mal Green	...	Trevon
Sharde Cole	...	Mikayla
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dante Boens	...	Z
Hashim Brown	...	Wood
Eugene Bush	...	Family Member
Will Clinger	...	Lawyer 4
George de Lama	...	Coach
William Dick	...	Lawyer 2
Kevin Michael Doyle	...	Police Officer
Sam Dyer	...	Lawyer 6
Kendall Gill	...	Coach
Llou Johnson	...	Lawyer 1
Kevin R. Kelly	...	Tom Stallworth (as Kevin Kelly)
Herb Kent	...	Herb Kent
Dori King	...	Teacher
Faizon Love	...	Roman
Dan McGrath	...	Coach
Cynthia Kaye McWilliams	...	Jori
Maisha Parsons	...	Lateesha
Taron Patton	...	Lawyer 3
Tony Scufield	...	Referee
Martin Shannon	...	Lawyer 5
Bridgette Shorter	...	Mikayala's Mother
Brian Smith	...	Clayvon
Ria Snow	...	Basketball Patron
Yahaira Tarr	...	Ariel
Norm Van Lier	...	Coach
Dan Waller	...	Detective
Joe Yau	...	Lawyer 7
Will Zahrn	...	Medical Examiner

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Near West Side, Chicago, Illinois, USA

"OF BOYS AND MEN" – It's Hard To Lose a Family Member =

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The Chicago Int'l Film festival has started a monthly series of free films being shown at Chicago's Cultural Center. This was the first in the series, representing the Black Perspectives section of the Festival which (per the impetus of Spike Lee) has been going on for more than 10 years. In 2004, ROBERT TOWNSEND was honored by the Festival (along with "Big Mama" IRMA P. HALL and HARRY LENNIX). Townsend stars (and produces) in this film shown at last year's Fest. ANGELA BASSETT (seen with Irma in Tyler Perry's "MEET THE BROWNS") plays his wife, VICTORIA ROWELL plays his sister, and there are some quite good performances by them & kids in the film (including BOBB'E J. THOMPSON, DANTE BOENS, SCOTT BAITY JR., & VINCE GREEN). There's a fine "FAMILY" spirit and warmth to the realistic film as the characters have to cope with the sudden loss of one of the family members, an event that starts great strains between many of the characters. Will the boys start to really GROW as they need to? It's a surprisingly effective little film filmed on the West Side of Chicago (including at the Garfield Park field-house, where you can see a cameo by ex-Bull Norm Van Lier who passed away just last week).