Of Boys and Men (2008) User Reviews

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

[jimchudnow-1 · 7/10 · 28 February 2009]

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).

Good movie that has its moments at pretension at greatest

[marsmitchell79 · 7/10 · 23 June 2017]

At the beginning, the movie is average to slightly below average, it has an explosively good middle, and, again, it returns back to this average to slightly below average ending.

Holden(Townsend) is distraught by the accidental, vehicular killing of his wife, Rietta(Bassett), but mostly holds it together around others. His baby sister, Janay(Rowell), helps him through the sudden loss. Holden and Ri have 3 kids: an older son who has a college graduation eminent(who has an unnoteworthy part; they don't even show him grieving his mom's loss), a much younger middle son nickamed Z(narrates the movie, the movie revolves around him and the people that he knows that are also appear in movie, and his friends/acquaintances add meat to the story), and a youngest daughter(who, like the eldest son, is insignificant). Janay plays her part so well that she seems more like Holden's oldest sister, aunt, or mother rather than the baby sister. She is that critical piece that knows just what to do--whoever has a problem! But, then again, she seems to be a practicing Christian and God will lead us to what we need to say, do, or--in most situations--what we desire of Him(putting the desire of your heart verse side by side with there's a time and a season for all things verse leads me to believe that there is a time to have the windows of heaven close occasionally and; whereas, that scripture from the NT leads me to believe that almost every time that a Christian asks having the key to unlock a certain blessing from the kingdom of heaven, then it will be unlocked. Sometimes, that's fasting and prayer and/ or love)! My point is simply that--if she was a born-again Christian--then I could definitely see where she would know exactly what to say and do! So, Janay played the Christian role well and it was well written! Z runs into a combo of criminal trouble and rebellion after his mom's death--which forces him to mature before it's too late! Z's friend gets molested by a his mom's boyfriend. Holden both flashes back about Ri and imagines her throughout!

Now, the fight scene lacked really good acting; it looked like cheap wrestling rather than an actually fight. The basketball camera work was one of the worst that I ever seen! Plus, the basketball kids' playing basketball scenes were not well done.