What is a baby boy? Is it someone who is unsure of himself, or is it someone who is immature? Can someone tell me? I would really like to know, since "Baby Boy," the latest directorial effort from John Singleton, doesn't answer my questions. Even though the script had its flaws, the directing was of good quality. Mr. Singleton wrote, produced and directed this film by himself. Maybe that's why the script had so many holes in it. He should have limited himself to two roles if he wanted this movie to be truly successful.

In the opening scene you see Jody(R&B singer/model Tyrese Gibson)and his longtime girlfriend, Yvette(Taraji P.Henson), are at an abortion clinic. As she is having the procedure performed, Jody is having a daydream. In this dream he sees himself as a full-grown man but in the embryonic state. As his girlfriend is having the abortion, this embryo begins to choke. The embryo is symbolic of Jody's inner-self, grown but not fully formed. As his child dies, a part of him dies as well. This type of symbolism is one of the clever aspects of the movie that caught my attention.

Now that I've focused on one of the few good points of this film, let me discuss its problems. First of all, the women in the movie are shown as being weak. Yvette and Wanetta, Jody's 36 year old mother, are totally dependent on the men in their lives. Yvette stayed with Jody despite the fact that he was unemployed, living at home with his mama, hitting her, sleeping with other females, having a baby with another woman, and using her possessions as if he had contributed to their purchase. The fact that he was 20 years old without a job or a home of his own,was reason enough to leave him. Wanetta, who has let countless men set foot in her bed, isn't much wiser. She lets her boyfriends live with her and lives in her deceased mother's house. To add insult to injury, she kicked her son out of the house at the request of an abusive boyfriend. This same son ended up getting killed soon after being driven out of his home. This may or may not have been a decision based on her immaturity and young age. At first sight, Wanetta appeared to be Jody's sister. Her actions proved that she was better suited to be someone's sibling instead of their mother.

Another flaw in "Baby Boy" was the portrayal of sex as an automatic solution to virtually every romantic conflict. Sex was used to replace much needed communication. After heated arguments between Jody and Yvette, intercourse was used to "fix" things. The instant that they finished making love, the couple was faced with the same problems that they had before they began.

During a panel discussion following the screening, the audience was encouraged to question the cast and invited guests. Danya Steele (fellow HarlemLive reporter) posed a very insightful question about the use of sexual relations as a solution to problems in the film. Tyrese Gibson, who played the protagonist, took the inquiry witha light heart, giving a childish response to a mature question..

Now let me touch on the baby boy himself. Tyrese did an excellent job portraying Jody in this film. Seeing that this was his acting debut, he played his role quite well. It wasn't that hard of a part to play for Gibson, since he admitted that he was a lot like his character. He claims that he has changed since then, but judging from his comments about issues pertaining to the movie, this baby boy has a lot of growing up to do.

Visit Baby Boy's official website at

www.spe.sony.com/movies/babyboy