Jim reviews "OF BOYS AND MEN": It’s Hard To Lose a Family Member =

“OF BOYS AND MEN”: It’s Hard To Lose a Family Member =
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Chicago Int’l Film festival has started a monthly series of free films being shown at Chicago’s Cultural Center. This was the first in the series, representing the Black Perspectives section of the Festival which (per the impetus of Spike Lee) has been going on for more than 10 years. In 2004, ROBERT TOWNSEND was honored by the Festival (along with “Big Mama” IRMA P. HALL and HARRY LENNIX). Townsend stars (and produces) in this film shown at last year’s Fest. ANGELA BASSETT (who appeared with Irma in Tyler Perry’s “MEET THE BROWNS”) plays his wife, VICTORIA ROWELL plays his sister, and there are some quite good performances by them & kids in the film (including BOBB’E J. THOMPSON, DANTE BOENS, SCOTT BAITY JR., & VINCE GREEN). There’s a fine “FAMILY” spirit and warmth to the realistic film as the characters have to cope with the sudden loss of one of the family members, an event that starts great strains between many of the characters. Will the boys start to really GROW as they need to? It’s a surprisingly effective little film filmed on the West Side of Chicago (including at the Garfield Park fieldhouse, where you can see a cameo by ex-Bull Norm Van Lier who passed away just last week).