The Wood

A funny, if familiar, urban Wonder Years-fashioned film of fond flashbacks and puberty clichés, The Wood is rookie filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa's semi-autobiographical remembrance of semi-suburban Inglewood (hence the title), Calif. in the '80s. It follows the junior high school backstory of three friends (Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs), told as remembrances while they race to get a cold-footed Diggs to the church on time for his wedding. Both the past and present stories have ups and downs, but they come together to form genuine portrayals of friendship and provide a lot of great laughs. Even though Famuyiwa may be an inexperienced director, his story taps into nervous adolescence and wedding jitters common enough and comedic enough that even with its urban themes (it's being marketed as a "black movie"), the tale is universal. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review—June 12, 2007—Paramount, 106 min., R, $14.99—Making its third appearance on DVD, 1999's The Wood (Special Edition) sports a great transfer, with DVD extras including audio commentary by director Rick Famuyiwa and costars Taye Diggs and Richard T. Jones, a five-minute “making-of” featurette, a photo gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid film.]