Boyz N The Hood - Plot

Plot

In 1984, ten-year-old Tre Styles (Desi Arnez Hines II) lives with his single mother Reva Devereaux (Angela Bassett) in Inglewood, California. After Tre gets involved in a fight at school, his teacher calls Reva. The teacher informs Reva that although Tre is rather intelligent, he is immature and lacks respect for classmates and adults alike. Frightened about the future of her child, Reva sends him to live in the Crenshaw neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles with his 27-year-old father, Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne), from whom she hopes Tre will learn life lessons.

On the night of Tre's arrival, he hears his father firing at a burglar. LAPD officers arrive more than an hour later, and eventually decide the crime is unimportant because nothing was taken and the burglar escaped completely unharmed. The police, particularly the African American officer, treat Furious with disrespect and contempt. The following day, Tre reunites with childhood friends Darrin "Doughboy" Baker, Doughboy's maternal half-brother Ricky, and Chris. Doughboy and Ricky live with their mother across the street from Furious.

While Ricky is naïve and trusting, Doughboy is aggressive and street-smart. He soon gets into a fight to retrieve Ricky's stolen football, but is beaten up. The ball is returned to him later by a Bloods gang member. Furious, who appears to be the only father present in the neighborhood, takes Tre on a fishing trip, where they talk, and he asks him about sexual nature and discusses the responsibility of fatherhood to him. The pair return to Crenshaw, where they notice Doughboy and Chris being led by police officers into a squad car after having been caught stealing in the local shop.

Seven years later, in 1991, a "welcome home" party is being held in the Baker home. Doughboy (Ice Cube), who had previously dropped out of high school, has just been released from prison, and sits at a table playing dominoes with Chris (Redge Green), now in a wheelchair, "Dookie" (Dedrick D. Gobert), and "Monster". Ricky (Morris Chestnut), now a star running-back for Crenshaw High School, lives at home with his mother Brenda (Tyra Ferrell), girlfriend Shanice (Alysia Rogers), and their newborn son. After the party is over, Tre walks home with leftovers for his father. As he walks along the street, Tre notices another one of the numerous babies belonging to drug-addict Cheryl walking dangerously on the street. He hurries to pick her up and brings her back to Sheryl, angrily reminding her to "keep the babies off the streets." Continuing on the way home, Tre encounters a group of Bloods gang members, who threateningly tease Tre by pointing a double-barreled shotgun at him. When Tre gets home, he gets a haircut from his 34-year-old father, telling him about his first failed attempt to have sex. Tre's father seems amused at first, but then sternly asks if Tre used a condom, for he was afraid of becoming a grandfather. Life goes on in the hood, with scenes including Tre flirting with Brandi and a drug-addict getting beat up by Doughboy and the gang after stealing Dookie's necklace. One night, a man from the USC comes to interview Ricky about college, with Ricky's rude friends giving him a bad impression. Ricky hopes to earn a scholarship to USC, but is daunted by the requirement that he must earn a 700 on his SAT to pass. Meanwhile, Furious has managed to secure Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who now holds a steady job and excels at school. He hopes to attend college with his girlfriend, Brandi (Nia Long), whose desire to remain abstinent is a source of tension between them.

One night, during a local street racing gathering, Ricky is provoked by Ferris (Raymond Turner), a Bloods member. In defense of Ricky, Doughboy brandishes his .45 ACP handgun. Ferris fires his MAC-10 into the air, causing everyone to speed away from the scene. Tre and Ricky are pulled over by an LAPD patrol; the lead officer turns out to be the same one who responded to Furious' 9-1-1 burglary call years ago. The officer shoves a gun in Tre's neck and taunts him, asking what he will do about it. Tre arrives late to Brandi's house and breaks down crying; later that night, they have sex for the first time.

The next day, Ricky, annoyed by his girlfriend, has a fight with Doughboy. Brenda rushes to Ricky's aid while berating Doughboy. This incident made Doughboy even more angry and he asks furiously, "What you hit me for!?" Ricky and Tre later head to the grocery store, but encounter Ferris and the Bloods. They cut though back alleys and separate to avoid them, but the Bloods show up, and Ricky is shot once in the leg and once in the back, killing him. The Bloods then depart from the scene. Doughboy and his friends recover Ricky's body, with a hysterical Brenda blaming Doughboy, who unsuccessfully tries to comfort her. Later that night, Brenda sobs over Ricky's test results, discovering he earned a 710 — just enough to qualify for a USC scholarship.

Doughboy, Dookie, Monster, and Tre vow revenge on the Bloods. Furious finds Tre holding his .357 Magnum pistol and seemingly convinces him to abandon his plans. However, Tre sneaks out of his bedroom window to join Doughboy and the Crips. Later that night, as the gang drives around the city, Tre realizes he is making a mistake and asks to be let out of the car. Doughboy pulls over and lets Tre out at a bus stop. Doughboy finds the Bloods eating at a fast-food restaurant, upon whom Monster opens fire with a Type 56 assault rifle in a drive-by shooting. Despite both Monster and Dookie's pleas to flee the scene, Doughboy gets out of his car and personally finishes Ferris and the other wounded gang member, avenging Ricky's death. Meanwhile, Tre returns home to which he finds his waiting father. Furious and Tre silently exchange glances for a moment, and then Furious enters his own room and slams the door.

The next morning, Doughboy visits Tre, now understanding Tre's reasons for abandoning the gang. Doughboy — having killed two men — knows that he will soon face retaliation for Ferris' death, and accepts the consequences of his crime-ridden life. He plaintively questions why America "don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the Hood." He sorrowfully says that he has no brothers left now after Ricky's death, but is embraced by Tre, who says Doughboy still has "one brother left." Doughboy then walks away, pouring out his malt liquor simultaneously.

In the epiloque text, it is revealed that Doughboy is murdered two weeks later. Tre and Brandi manage to attend Morehouse and Spelman in Atlanta, respectively.