The Summer's Most Important Movie

The thing that makes this story so sweet is that no one could have predicted it. In a summer crowded with strong, surprising new films about inner-city life, moviegoers were having a bit of trouble keeping all the titles straight. From Spike Lee's Jungle Fever to Joseph B. Vasquez' Hangin' With the Homeboys to 19-year-old Matty Rich's Straight Out of Brooklyn, the theaters were throbbing with important voices, and there was no reason to think Boyz N the Hoodwould break away from the inner-city pack. True, the Hollywood buzz made much of 23-year-old writer-director John Singleton, a kid from the ghettos of South Central L.A. by way of the University of Southern California's Filmic Writing Program. He had won several awards there — even had a CAA agent before he graduated. But for all the chatter, no one was touting the kid's debut as the Next Big Thing.

So how come, when the dust settled, Boyz N the Hood was not just the biggest money-maker of the bunch but the summer's most significant movie? Why is this the film that has drawn not only black crowds but a still-growing white audience for whom it redraws perceptions of urban life? And how has the success of this heartfelt drama affected the high-stakes poker game that is Hollywood — a game not previously known for openness to black and inner-city themes?

The sheer quality of Singleton's film overcame the notoriety of its opening night. After an ad campaign that made Boyz seem more of a shoot-'em-up than it was, the night of July 12 became a replay of events surrounding the premieres of such other gang-related films as Colors and New Jack City: Two people were killed and 33 injured in and around theaters, and for days Singleton was defending his work to the press.

Despite the violence and its South Central L.A. setting, though, Boyz was no tale of gang warfare like 1988's Colors but rather a growing-up saga with a forceful, almost heavy-handed antiviolence message. The surprise is that audiences — black and white — quickly figured that out for themselves. Boyz grossed over $22 million in its first two weeks, earning more per theater than the summer's blockbuster, Terminator 2. It has gone on to make more than $46 million so far, and is sure to become the highest-grossing black-themed film in history.