Everyone has that one movie that holds special meaning for them. It might be because it represented a special moment in their lives or transported them back to a special time and place.
For many, The Wood was that movie.
On Tuesday, July 16th, the classic Black film, directed by Rick Famuyiwa, celebrated 25 years of making people laugh at, cheer on and celebrate the trio of Big Mike (Sean Nelson/Omar Epps), Laveinio aka “Slim” (Duane Finley/Richard T. Jones) and Roland (Trent Cameron/Taye Diggs) as they tried to get Roland to his wedding day while reminiscing about their childhood exploits growing up in Inglewood, CA.
Mike was a North Carolina transport who was into baseball, something Slim and Roland couldn’t understand. Slim and Mike were friends who went on to befriend the shy, out-of-place new student.
Despite the differences in geography, style of dress and hairstyles, the three bonded quickly and became best friends after daring Mike to foolishly touch the butt of the prettiest girl in school, Alicia (Malinda Williams), for which he received a beat down from her brother, Stacey (De’Aundre Bonds).
While Mike was laid back, shy and sheltered, his newfound friends from “The Wood” were into music, parties, sports, and of course, girls.
Their first big event together was the high school dance. But before they could even get to the party, the three Black musketeers got caught up in a robbery involving Stacey. After saving them all from a trip to jail, Mike got a dance with Alicia and won the bet the three had set earlier in the night.
For Black men, especially those who came up in the 70s and 80s, the movie is a relatable experience, for we all went through many of the same things the trio did.
We were raised with and by classic R&B and hip-hop. We wore the same Adidas tracksuits and double-breasted rayon suits straight out of a Boby Brown or Guy video. We played the same stupid games involving celebrity crushes, hung out and did dumb things we got in trouble for all while trying to navigate high school and the confusing time of teenage life.
The movie gave us so many memorable moments and lines, many of which are still quoted today.
“Mackin’ and hanging.”
“Ni**a, you got Lisa Davis.”
“You let that ni**a Terry bone!”
And as funny as Laveinio and Roland were, Big Mike was the character everyone sympathized with and cheered for.
