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The Wood
^ ^ ^ n th e p a n ic k y , u n c e r ta in
■ h o u rs before h is w edding, a
they begin reliving th eir teenage days
gToom w ith p re n u p tia l jitters
girls, jheri curls, K-Swiss tennis shoes and
a n d his tw o b est friends rem inisce abut
hip-hop beats. As these three friends revisit
g ro w in g u p to g e th e r in Inglew o o d ,
some of their old stom ping grounds, they
C alifornia in the ensem ble com edy “T h e
know that two big words uttered later in the
[
W ood.” F lash in g b ack to the tw enty­
so m eth in g trio ’s ch ild h o o d exploits, the
growing up in the 1980s an era of chasing
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just like any o th er city. It has suffered
W o o d " r e p r e s e n t s a s h if t in th e
fro m a lot of m isco n c ep tio n s," says
relate to it because it's about experiences
m arketplace tow ard new representations
Fam uyiw a adding that like so any places
in the w orld, "negative elem ents are only
everyone has to go through Adolescence
a small percentage of daily life."
in the experience, and Iriendship m eans
everything during that period o í your life.
C a lif o r n ia w ith h is b o y h o o d p a ls,
of A frican-A m erican life.
“ It was im portant to m e to reveal the
fam uyiw a originated the story idea several
Inglew ood th a t I G rew up in,
years ago w hen a triend of his a nnounced
Fam uyiw a. “Inglew ood is a
middle-class com m unity where
h e w as g e ttin g m a rrie d a n d h e and
a coming-iit-age story. “I think everyone ta n
F am u y iw a says in te re s t in “ The
people ta re about their families
a n d w an tth eb e stfo rth eirk id s,
says
Famuyiw adescribes his debut feature as
ta n be a n >ugh time, there’s hum or and pain
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film cap tu res th e m ood a n d n ostalgia of
the ‘80s e ra th ro u g h the pow erful b eats
¡o p e n
a n d lyrics of som e of the d e c a d e ’s m ost
1 h •
\ \ M il
IS
m em o rab le hip-hop m usic.
Mike (O m ar Epps) and Slim (Richard
T. Jones) never thought they’d see the day
their m an R oland (Taye Diggs) would strut
down the aisle to get m arried. Neither,
apparently, did Roland, who ducks out just
Fam uyiw a’s
hours before the cerem ony and turns up at
v f v i d
the house of his high school sweetheart,
m em ories of
T anya (T am alajones). T hough he adores
grow ing up
his fiancée (Lisaraye), R oland sees the
im pending nuptials as a separation from
in
th e
middle-class
those who have always been closest to him,
A fric an-
his neighborhood partners from I n^ew ood,
A m e ric a n
which they fondly refer to as the W ood.
nei^iborhud
Inglew ood,
Taye Diggs and LisaRae star in
Jazz in the Gym featuring
ot since th e ad o lscen t
N
heydays o f the Ja c k so n
5 in th e ‘70s a n d th e a ro u n d -
the-w ay sm o o th n e s s o f N ew
E d itio n in th e ‘80s h a s a
y o u n g m ale g ro u p p r o d u c e d
su c h a n e ffu siv e m ix . 3 'J
S to re e fe a tu re s th e in fe c ­
tio u s le a d v o c als o f 12-year
LEROY VINNEGAR w ith
THE MEL BROWN TRIO
Sunday, July 11 • 6pm • $5
L il’ M a n a n d th e b u b b lin g
h a r m o n ie s o f 15-year o ld s
D - S m o o v e , J a y - R .,
and
K e v o n te.
Five songs fro m th e LA
b a se d q u a r te t’s d e b u t w ere
w ritte n
by
K e n n e th
“ B a b y fa c e ” E d m o n d s , in ­
c lu d in g th e first single “ If
>dging, R estau rant, M ovie T h eater
and Live M usic T h ursdays
E v e r” a n d a n th e m ic b a lla d
th a t b o a s ts r ic h full c h o ­
ru se s, s tirrin g b a c k g ro u n d
5736 NE 33rd • Portland, Oregon
(503) 249-3983 • www.mcmenamins.com
g u ita rs , a n d strin g s
l- IIM S
TALENT NIGHT
SATURDAY, JULY J IS I • /=< < K H .
TUT ALADDIN TUEATRE
■ " " S ^ S Z Z h B r i t n e y Spears on 3uly 27 at the Washington County Fair,
From boyhood to manhood
you can always count on
vour best friends.
Screening to be held
Tuesday, July 13th
7:30pm
Lloyd Mall Cinemas
3rd Level Food Court
Pick up your
complimentary pass
good for two at one of
the following locations:
S8.50 IN ADVANCE, S10.50 DAY OF SHOW
Doris' Café
325 N. Russell St.
It's All Good
Gift Shop
407 N.E. Mason St.
L im it one pass p e r p e rso n
(each pass a d m its tw o ).
No purchase necessary.
While supplies last.
www.th8woodniovi8.coni
Em ployees of P aram ount Pictures and
their affiliated agencies. The Portland
Observer, D oris’ Café, & It’s All Good
Gift Shop are not eligible.
r H F W o œ o r E N S F riday ,J uly 16 t h a t t h ^ t r e s E v e r y w h h ^
I
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GET YOUR TICKETS NOW AT
ALL TICKETMASTER LOCATIONS &
THE ALADDIN THEATRE BOX OFFICE,