The Wood (1999)

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

Director:

Rick Famuyiwa

Writers:

Rick Famuyiwa (story), Todd Boyd (story)

Stars:

Elayn J. Taylor, Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elayn J. Taylor	...	Roland's Mother (as Elayn Taylor)
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

Storyline

On the wedding day of a writer's friend, things aren't looking good when the groom goes missing before the ceremony. During his and his other male friend's effort to retrieve him, that writer named Mike can't help but tell the story of his youth with his friends. Ever since he met them on his first day at a new school, they shared the common experiences of growing up and life's discoveries.

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | homoeroticism | male friendship | friendship between men | barefoot male | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and some strong sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 July 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wood

Filming Locations:

Inglewood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,515,223, 18 July 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$25,047,631, 17 October 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bona Fide Productions, MTV Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While writing his screenplay, Rick Famuyiwa worked fulltime at the Beverly Hills branch of Niketown.

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Goofs

There is Wrigley's Winterfresh gum, first released in the 1990s, in the convenience store in 1986.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

References Silver Spoons (1982)

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Soundtracks

Neck Uv da Woods
Performed by Mystikal and Outkast

User Reviews

Not only a warming comedy but a great, realistic and positive 'childhood to manhood' story

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 1999

10/10