| Director | John Singleton |
|---|---|
| Genre | coming-of-age film, crime film, drama film, hood film, romance film |
| Runtime | 129 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $16 million |
| Box office | $29.3 million |
Joseph "Jody" Summers waits for his girlfriend Yvette at an abortion clinic after compelling her to go. They then have a heated argument about his lack of commitment and selfishness; she asks him if he will ever come live with her and their son JoJo, but he deliberately avoids the subject and she is left annoyed when Jody decides to come and go as he pleases.
It is then Jody begins cheating on Yvette with other women, including a young girl named Peanut, with whom he also has a daughter named Lil' Nut. At one point he nearly has sex with Yvette's colleague and co-worker Pandora, but manages to end up rebuffing her advances. Later on, however, Yvette finds out about Jody's sexual affairs and confronts him about it; the argument quickly turns physical, culminating in her kicking Jody out of her home.
Soon enough, Yvette gets reacquainted with her gangster ex-boyfriend Rodney after he is released from San Quentin State Prison. He returns to the neighborhood and moves in with Yvette, but it quickly becomes clear that Rodney does not care for JoJo at all and he wishes wants to impregnate Yvette himself. Later on Rodney attempts to rape Yvette in front of her son, but he ultimately stops himself out of guilt. Despite their previous issues, Yvette begins to realize she still loves Jody.
In the meantime, Jody has begun living with his mother Juanita again at her house. He is not happy to find his mother has started dating Melvin, an ex-convict, and tensions frequently build up between the two men. Juanita later finds marijuana in her garden and confronts Jody, who in turn angrily blames Melvin for what happened. Melvin comes home, admits to Juanita that he planted it and apologizes. An upset Jody argues with his mother before getting into an argument with Melvin, which ends with Melvin punching him and breaking the table.
Frustrated, Jody leaves the house to see his friend Sweetpea. Soon after, Yvette kicks Rodney and his friends out of her apartment. Eventually, Yvette and Jody reconcile at Sweetpea's house, and Yvette tells Jody about how Rodney tried to rape her in front of JoJo. Rodney then steals Yvette's money and keys from her wallet and drives off in her car to go and find Jody, whom he unsuccessfully tries to kill in a drive-by shooting.
Later that night, Jody and Sweetpea confront Rodney, and as he attempts to escape, Jody shoots him in the back of his legs. Sweetpea urges Jody to kill Rodney, but he refuses, and so Sweetpea shoots and kills Rodney himself with four shots. Horrified by Rodney's death, Jody prepares to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head, but Melvin stops him before taking the gun. After reflecting on Rodney's death and how his absence endangered her and JoJo, Jody finally decides to move in with Yvette.
Jody then accepts that Juanita's relationship with Melvin is stable, and that he needs to protect and care for his own family. Afterward, Jody and Yvette get married and look forward to the birth of their unborn child. Meanwhile, Sweetpea decides to get baptized and abandon his old life as a criminal.