Menace II Society is a 1993 hood film and the directorial debut of twin brothers Allen and Albert Hughes. Menace II Society is set in South Central Los Angeles and follows the life of a hoodlum named Caine Lawson and his close friends. The film gained notoriety for its frequent scenes of violence, profanity, and drug-related content. Menace II Society was critically acclaimed for its gritty portrayal of urban violence and its powerful underlying messages.

Plot[link]

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Caine Lawson and his best friend Kevin Anderson (AKA O-Dog) enter a local store to buy two bottles of malt liquor as the Korean storekeeper and his wife eye them suspiciously. An argument ensues and the irritated O-Dog shoots and kills and robs the storekeeper and his wife. He then takes the store video surveillance tape. Frightened, Caine drops his bottle and beckons his friend to flee the scene as police sirens advance nearby.

Caine’s father was killed in a drug deal when Caine was ten and his mother died of a drug overdose a few years later. Pernell, a local hood and friend of Caine's father, served as his would-be mentor.

Years later, Caine visits Pernell's ex-girlfriend Ronnie and her son Anthony, who congratulate him on graduating while Pernell is now serving life in prison without parole.

That night, Caine and his cousin Harold go to a graduation party where they meet up with O-Dog and the Muslim Sharif and high school football star Stacy. Caine reprimands O-Dog about showing the store videotape to entertain neighborhood friends. Later, Harold and Caine are carjacked and Harold is murdered. A week later, O-Dog informs Caine that he has learned the identity of the jackers and murders the assailants, exacting revenge.

Weeks later, Caine and O-Dog are hired by a local hood Chauncy, for a car insurance scheme but are caught in the process and arrested by police. As a minor, O-Dog is released with a warning; Caine, however, being the age of eighteen, is charged as an adult. A detective attempts to link Caine to the store killings by matching fingerprints from the dropped beer bottle. Once released, Caine, buys a new car from a chop shop and robs a local hustler for his Dayton wheels, jewelry, stereo, and a Double Cheeseburger meal with Fries.

Caine begins to enjoy his new hustler life with his crew, meeting a local girl named Ilena and shirking all ambition and responsibilities. One night, Caine and Sharif are assaulted by racist police and left in Mexican gang territory to die. However, the local gang take the wounded youths to a hospital. Ronnie visits Caine there, telling him that she has found a job in Atlanta and invites him to come with her. Later, Caine tells Ronnie that he will accompany her to Atlanta and the two consummate their relationship.

Caine breaks his ties with Ilena.

Chauncy tries to force himself on Ronnie and Caine, savagely pistol-whips Chauncy. Chauncy, as revenge against Caine, turns over a copy of the store surveillance tape to the police, who begin scouring the area for Caine and O-Dog, now wanted in the killings.

Caine and O-Dog are approached by a cousin of Ilena and after a fistfight, O-Dog stops Caine from stomping the man to death. This proves to be the last straw for Caine's grandparents, who promptly throw him out of their house, despite his pleading.

Two Weeks later, Ilena's cousin and a gang of hooded gunmen execute a drive-by shooting on the house during which Sharif is killed and Caine is fatally wounded. As Caine lies bloody in Stacy's arms, seeing flashbacks of the events that led to this final moment, he realizes that ‘in the end it all catches up with you’. With a gunshot, the screen blacks out.

Cast[link]

• Tyrin Turner - Kaydee (Caine) Lawson
• Larenz Tate - Kevin (O-Dog) Anderson
• Jada Pinkett - Ronnie
• Samuel L. Jackson - Tat Lawson
• MC Eiht - A-Wax
• Glenn Plummer - Pernell
• Clifton Powell - Chauncy
• Marilyn Coleman - Caine's grandmother
• Arnold Johnson - Caine's grandfather Thomas
• Pooh-Man - Doc
• Julian Roy Doster - Anthony
• Too Short - Lew-Loc
• Khandi Alexander - Karen Lawson
• Vonte Sweet - Sharif Butler
• Ryan Williams - Stacy
• Bill Duke - Detective
• Dwayne L. Barnes - Basehead
• Charles S Dutton - Mr. Butler
• Garen Holoman - Junior
• Brandon Hammond - Five Year Old Caine
• Saafir - Harold Lawson
• Cynthia Calhoun - Jackee
• Erin Leshawn Wiley - Ilena
• Samuel Monroe Jr. - Ilena's Cousin
• Clifton Collins Jr. - Vato #2
• Lady Balls. - Denzel Washington

Production[link]

Originally, Tupac Shakur was set to play Sharif and rapper Spice 1 was set to play Caine, but they were later fired with director Allen Hughes claiming that Tupac was causing trouble on the set. Six months after the firing, Shakur assaulted the director, resulting in Shakur being found guilty of assault and battery.^[2] Tupac did not want to play the role of Sharif, not being a Muslim. Tupac wanted to play O-Dog. They were later replaced with Larenz Tate and Tyrin Turner, respectively.^[3]

The movie featured realistic dialogue, and has become known for its frequent crude and profane language. For example, the word "fuck" and its derivatives are used 300 times in this 97-minute film (see: List of films that most frequently use the word "fuck"). This was a record up to that time and the film still holds one of the highest fuck per minute rates at 3.07 times per minute.

The movie was also slightly edited for an R-rating; edited scenes included Samuel L. Jackson's character's killing of the man in the poker scene, the shooting of the red-sweatered gang member by A-Wax, and Caine's death at the end. The director's cut was first released on laserdisc, then released on DVD later in 2008. The film's first DVD release was the R-rated theatrical version. The director's cut has since been re-rated R for strong bloody violence, drug use and pervasive language (instead of strong violence, drug use and language). Several additional scenes were also added, including a scene showing Caine and O-Dog breaking into a car in the garage, the funeral of Caine's cousin, and a scene after the funeral. But according to the Hughes brothers, a prison riot scene, which was cut by the studio to avoid an NC-17 rating, has not been restored.

Reception[link]

Menace II Society generally received positive reviews from critics.^[4] The film scored an 85% 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 35 reviews.

Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum stated, "This is a powerful, convincing, and terrifying look at teenage crime in contemporary Watts."^[5] Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly gave it a positive review, stating, "Menace II Society is bleak, brilliant, and unsparing."^[6] EmanuelLevy.com gave the film an A, saying it is "The most stunning feature debut in the new African American cinema, even more so than Boyz n the Hood to which the coming of age feature bears thematic resemblance."^[7] The film was placed on both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's 10 best films of 1993 lists, with Ebert praising "the way the filmmakers tell Caine's story without making him seem either the hero or victim".^[8][9]

The film had its share of negative reviews as well. Geoff Andrew of Time Out stated, "Regrettably, the Hughes Brothers' first feature is a compendium of cliches."^[10] Stephen Holden of The New York Times stated, "If Menace II Society is terrific on ambiance, it is considerably less successful in revealing character."^[11]

At the 1994 MTV Movie Awards, the film was awarded Best Movie, beating out the likes of Philadelphia, Jurassic Park and Schindler's List.^[12] The film also won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography.^[13]

Cultural references[link]

There have been many references to the movie in pop culture:

• The Boondocks, a cartoon series on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, has incorporated quotes from the movie into the dialogue of the character voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. "Thank You for Not Snitching" (season 2, episode 3) parodies the interrogation scene, and in "Ballin'", Uncle Ruckus calls Riley O-Dog during a basketball game.
• One episode of the short lived TV series, The Critic, features main character Jay Sherman reviewing a movie titled Dennis the Menace II Society, in which Dennis the Menace pulls out two machine guns and shoots up George Wilson's house.
• The 1996 Wayans Brothers spoof, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, based its main storyline mostly on the movie. Multiple characters from the movie parody those of Menace II Society, such as Marlon Wayans' character named "Loc Dog".
• The Simpsons spoofed the film in one episode, wherein Lisa and Homer watch a short cartoon starring Ludacris, called "Menace Tooth Society".^[14]
• In the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, members of the Grove Street Families resemble O-Dog. In the mission "Ryder", the pizza shop clerk says to Ryder, "I feel sorry for your dad", echoing what the Korean liquor store clerk says to O-Dog in the beginning of the movie. A few actors from the film, notably Samuel L. Jackson, MC Eiht, Clifton Powell, Yo-Yo, and Clifton Collins, Jr., appeared as many of the main characters in San Andreas. Additionally, the start of the game contains a scene wherein the main character is left in rival gang territory.
• A number of rap songs by 50 Cent, The Game, Jay-Z, and T.I. have made reference to Menace II Society
• Gucci Mane's album "The Appeal" has a song titled "ODog" featuring Wyclef Jean

Lupe Fiasco's song "Double Burger With Cheese", which in the title itself is a reference to a scene from the film, makes numerous references to the film and includes dialogue from the scene where Caine robs a man of his car and has the man order him a "Double burger with cheese."

• In the debut album of rapper Lil Zane, Young World: The Future, in the track "Ride On 'Em", you can hear at the end O-Dog and his infamous quote before the shooting of the carjackers:"You act like a lil b**** rite now, you act all paranoid and s***..."

Immortal Technique, in his song "Angels and Demons", quotes the main character's line, "Young, black, and don't give a f**k".

See also[link]

• Menace II Society (soundtrack)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Menace II Society

• Menace II Society at the Internet Movie Database
• Menace II Society at AllRovi
• Menace II Society at Rotten Tomatoes
• Menace II Society at Metacritic
• Menace II Society at Box Office Mojo