Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 96% based on 69 reviews and an average score of 8.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Well-acted and thematically rich, Boyz n the Hood observes urban America with far more depth and compassion than many of the like-minded films its success inspired."[10] At Metacritic, the film received an average score of 76 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[11]
Cultural impact
Boyz n the Hood launched the acting careers of Gooding, Chestnut, and Long, who were relatively unknown before it. It also launched the Hollywood acting career of Ice Cube and was the first significant film roles for both Angela Bassett and Regina King.[3]
Accolades
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Director | John Singleton | Nominated | [12] |
| Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen | Nominated | |||
| BMI Film & TV Awards | Film Music Award | Stanley Clarke | Won | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Film | Nominated | [13] | |
| Best Director | John Singleton | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Ice Cube | Nominated | ||
| Laurence Fishburne | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | John Singleton | Nominated | ||
| Most Promising Actor | Ice Cube | Won | ||
| Cuba Gooding Jr. | Nominated | |||
| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards | Best Film | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | John Singleton | Nominated | ||
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Movie | Nominated | ||
| Favorite Movie Actor | Ice Cube | Nominated | ||
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | New Generation Award | John Singleton | Won | [14] |
| MTV Movie Awards | Best Movie | Nominated | ||
| Best New Filmmaker | John Singleton | Won | ||
| NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Motion Picture | Won | ||
| National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | 7th Place | [15] | |
| National Film Preservation Board | National Film Registry | Inducted | ||
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best New Director | John Singleton | Won | [16] |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Won | [17] | |
| Political Film Society Awards | Exposé | Nominated | ||
| Human Rights | Won | |||
| Peace | Won | |||
| Stockholm International Film Festival | Bronze Horse | John Singleton | Nominated | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen | Nominated | [18] | |
| Young Artist Awards | Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | Desi Arnez Hines II, Baha Jackson, and Donovan McCrary | Won | [19] |
- In 2007, Boyz n the Hood was selected as one of the 50 Films To See in your lifetime by Channel 4.
American Film Institute Lists
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated
In popular culture
Australian alternative rock band TISM released a live VHS called Boyz n the Hoods in 1992, whose cover artwork is presented as a parody of the film's original VHS box, albeit with a fake disclaimer printed on the cover stating that due to a manufacturing error, the non-existent film was replaced with TISM's concert.
Characters and scenes from Boyz n the Hood are parodied in the 1996 crime comedy parody film, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.
In the 2015 comedy film Get Hard, Kevin Hart's character Darnell is asked to talk about the reason for his fabricated incarceration years earlier. Fumbling for a story, he describes the final scene of Boyz n the Hood, passing it off as his own experience to Will Ferrell's character.
In the series finale of the show Snowfall, which Singleton co-wrote, co-created, co-executive produced and directed, the main characters Leon and Franklin walk by someone filming a movie on the street that looks very much like a scene with the young boys from John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood as a homage to the creator.
