Singleton initially developed the film as a requirement for his application to film school in 1986 and sold the script to Columbia Pictures upon graduation in 1990. During writing, he drew inspiration from his own life and from the lives of people he knew and insisted he direct the project. Principal photography began in September 1990 and was filmed on location from October to November 1990. The film features breakout roles for Ice Cube, Gooding Jr., Chestnut, and Long.
In 1984, ten-year-old Tre Styles lives with his single mother, Reva Devereaux, in South Central Los Angeles. After Tre gets into a fight at school, his teacher informs Reva that although intelligent, he lacks maturity and respect. Concerned about Tre's future, Reva sends him to live in the Crenshaw neighborhood of South Central with his father, Furious Styles, hoping Tre will learn life lessons from him. Furious is strict but also caring and attentive.
In Crenshaw, Tre reunites with his childhood friends Darrin "Doughboy" Baker, Doughboy's half-brother Ricky, and their friend Chris. One night, Furious calls the LAPD after shooting at a burglar. A civil and professional white police officer named Graham and a hostile and self-hating black police officer named Coffey arrive an hour later. The next day at Chris's suggestion, Tre and his friends go to look at a dead body, after which a group of men harasses them. Later on, en route back from a fishing trip, Tre and Furious notice Doughboy and Chris being arrested for theft.
Seven years later, Doughboy, now a Rollin 60s Crips member[citation needed] and drug dealer, is released from prison. Attending his welcome-home party are Chris, now paraplegic due to a gunshot wound, and new friends and fellow Crip members Dooky and Monster. Ricky is now a star running back at Crenshaw High School who hopes to earn a university scholarship. He lives with his mother Brenda, his girlfriend Shanice, and their toddler son. A visiting University of Southern California recruiter informs Ricky that he must score at least a 700 on the SAT to qualify for a football scholarship. Meanwhile, Tre, now a mature and responsible teenager, hopes to attend college with his girlfriend Brandi.
During a nighttime street gathering on Crenshaw Boulevard, Ferris, a member of the rival Bloods, provokes Ricky. Everybody comes to Ricky's defense, with Doughboy flashing a handgun. The gangs argue but cooler heads prevail, until Ferris fires an automatic MAC-10 into the air, causing everyone to flee. Tre and Ricky are soon pulled over by the police. Officer Coffey, wrongly believing that Tre is a gangster, threateningly holds his revolver to Tre's throat. A distraught Tre goes to Brandi's house, where he breaks down. After she comforts him, they have sexual intercourse for the first time.
The next afternoon, Doughboy and his gang notice Ferris and two Bloods members driving through their neighborhood seeking retribution for the previous night's confrontation. Brenda then asks Ricky to run an errand, but Ricky encounters and brawls with Doughboy beforehand, and Brenda takes Ricky's side. Ricky's test results are delivered as he and Tre depart. Later spotted by the Bloods, they cut through back alleys to avoid them before splitting up. However, the Bloods catch up to Ricky, and he is fatally shot. A distraught Doughboy helps Tre carry Ricky's bloodied corpse home. Brenda and Shanice, both devastated by Ricky's death, tearfully blame Doughboy for instigating the shooting.
Wanting vengeance, Tre takes Furious' gun and is about to leave to join Doughboy but is intercepted by his father, who seemingly convinces him to abandon his plans for revenge. Moments later, though, Furious and Brandi catch Tre sneaking out to join his friends. Later that night, as they drive around the city, Tre comes to his senses and returns home. Meanwhile, Brenda discovers that Ricky had scored a 710, barely enough to qualify for the scholarship. After Doughboy, Dooky and Monster unexpectedly encounter Ferris and the Bloods at a diner, Monster guns down the fleeing trio in a drive-by shooting. Doughboy then stops and exits his car to approach their bodies; seeing that Ferris and Ricky's shooter are still alive, he executes them both. Later that evening, when Tre arrives home, he and Furious stare at each other before entering their bedrooms for the night.
The next morning, Doughboy visits Tre, understanding his reasons for abandoning the gang. Knowing he will face retaliation for killing Ferris, and accepting the consequences of his own lifestyle, Doughboy questions why most people "don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the hood" and laments his brother's death. Tre embraces him as a surrogate brother.
As Doughboy leaves and Tre goes back into his house, a postscript reveals that Ricky was buried the next day and Doughboy was murdered two weeks later. Tre ultimately leaves in the fall to attend college with Brandi in Atlanta, Georgia.
Singleton wrote the film based on his own life and that of people he knew.[8] When applying for film school, one of the questions on the application form was to describe "three ideas for films". One of the ideas Singleton composed was titled Summer of 84, which later evolved into Boyz n the Hood.[8] During writing, Singleton was influenced by the 1986 film Stand by Me, which inspired both an early scene where four young boys take a trip to see a dead body and the closing fade-out of main character Doughboy.[8]
Upon completion, Singleton was protective of his script, insisting that he be the one to direct the project, later explaining at a retrospective screening of the film "I wasn't going to have somebody from Idaho or Encino direct this movie."[3] He sold the script to Columbia Pictures in 1990, who greenlit the film immediately out of interest in making a film similar to the comedy-drama film Do the Right Thing (1989).
The role of Doughboy was written specially for Ice Cube, whom Singleton met while working as an intern at The Arsenio Hall Show.[8] Singleton also noted the studio was unaware of Ice Cube's standing as a member of rap group N.W.A.[8] Singleton claims Gooding and Chestnut were cast because they were the first ones who showed up to auditions,[8] while Fishburne was cast after Singleton met him on the set of Pee-wee's Playhouse, where Singleton worked as a production assistant and security guard.[9]
Long grew up in the area the film depicts and has said, "It was important as a young actor to me that this feels real because I knew what it was like go home from school and hear gunshots at night." Bassett referred to Singleton as her "little brother" on set. "I'd been in LA for about three years and I was trying, trying, trying to do films," she said. "We talked, I auditioned and he gave me a shot. I've been waiting to work with him ever since."[3]
The film was shot in sequence, with Singleton later noting that as the film goes on, the camera work gets better as Singleton was finding his foothold as a director.[3] He has a cameo in the film, appearing as a mailman handing over mail to Brenda as Doughboy and Ricky are having a scuffle in the front yard. Filming began on October 1, 1990, in South Central Los Angeles, with several gang members serving as consultants, on "wardrobe, vocal emphasis and dialogue changes" to ensure authenticity.[1]
Reception and legacy
Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 96% based on 71 reviews and an average score of 8.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Well-acted and thematically rich, Boyz n the Hood observes urban America with far more depth and compassion than many of the like-minded films its success inspired."[10] At Metacritic, the film received an average score of 76 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[11]
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