Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood is a 1996 American crime comedy parody film directed by Paris Barclay in his feature film directorial debut, and produced by Keenen Ivory Wayans, and also written by Wayans brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans, who also both starred in the lead roles. The film was released in the United States on January 12, 1996.
Similar to I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, the film spoofs a number of African-American, coming-of-age, hood films such as Juice, Jungle Fever, South Central, Higher Learning, Do the Right Thing, Poetic Justice, New Jack City, Dead Presidents, Friday, Above the Rim, and most prominently Boyz n the Hood and Menace II Society. The film's title borrows phrases from some of those films, and some of the actors who starred in those movies appear in the film, in some cases appearing in similar roles or scenes as the films being parodied.
Plot
Ashtray, Tray for short, is sent to the inner city to live with his father. Tray gets an education about life on the streets from his psychotic, gun-toting cousin Loc Dog, pot smoking foul mouthed Grandma, underage Pops, and gang members Preach, and Crazy Legs. At a picnic Tray falls for the infamous Dashiki, who has 7 Kids, much to the distaste of ex-convict Toothpick. While Ashtray and Loc Dog head to buy some snacks, Toothpick and his posse confront Ashtray and hold him at gunpoint, until Loc Dog threatens them with a missile mounted in the back of his van, stamped with the letters “USSR” Loc Dog claims it is in fact a nuclear device. Toothpick and his gang then flee the scene.Loc Dog and Ashtray get harassed in a Korean store by the owners and Loc Dog shoots at the owners when a remark is made about his mother. The two are then confronted by 'The Man' who kills the Koreans and tosses them his gun to frame them and leaves.
Meanwhile, Ashtray and Loc Dog's Grandma ride to church and another elderly woman disses her, resulting in a breakdancing contest that Grandma wins.
Ashtray visits Dashiki where they engage in sexual intercourse and Dashiki immediately claims he has impregnated her. Feeling like he's not responsible enough to be the father, Dashiki kicks him out. Someone from Toothpick's posse threatens Ashtray, Loc Dog, Preach, and Crazy Legs. Loc Dog knocks him out as he and Preach proceed to stomp him, flattening him. The quartet decides to get protection from their friend Old School.
This tactic fails as Toothpick performs a drive-by shooting and Crazy Legs is injured. With Crazy Legs hospitalized, himself and Loc Dog being arrested, and the Korean store shooting, Tray decides to confront Dashiki and be the father. Dashiki agrees to give Tray another try and they decide to leave the hood as planned.
Ashtray then reads a bedtime story to his Pops who is too young to go to a party in which causes him to ejaculate before going to sleep. At the party, Loc Dog meets Keisha, whom he then takes her to his mail truck to drink and have sex. During sexual intercourse, Keisha turns into a demonic monster, strips Loc Dog naked while he tries to run away and forces him to have sex with her while he screams.
Ashtray and Loc Dog talk about Ashtray's departure as Toothpick and his posse prepare for another drive-by. He and Loc Dog clash as Ashtray is shot. As Loc and Toothpick continue to exchange gunfire, Grandma pops out of the dumpster and shoots Toothpick's car. Toothpick is flung out and he lands on a cop car. Preach and Dashiki find Ashtray hurt and he regains consciousness and kisses Dashiki. A woman finds Toothpick and beats him with his shoe for stealing from her in the past. Afterwards, Toothpick and his gang are presumably arrested.
Afterwards, everyone goes their separate ways: Ashtray and Dashiki marry and enjoy their lives, Loc Dog becomes a host and introduces himself with extreme profanity, Preach and his crush settle down and perform sexual intercourse, Crazy Legs becomes a dancer as he had dreamed of, and Grandma is, as Ashtray puts it, "still Grandma".
Cast
- Shawn Wayans as Ashtray, the everyman, trying to make his way through a confusing world, is sent by his mother to live in the ghetto where his father might teach him how to become a man. Based on Tre Styles from Boyz n the Hood, Bobby Johnson from South Central, and Caine Lawson from Menace II Society.
- Vivica A. Fox as Ashtray's mother, whose one-scene, one-line cameo at the beginning ends with her son asking, "So will I see you again?" and her replying, "Sorry baby. You know there ain't no positive black females in these movies." Based on Reva Devereaux-Styles from Boyz n the Hood.
- Lahmard Tate as Ashtray's father, Ashtray's temperamental role model who dispenses sage advice to his son. According to Ashtray, he is only "a couple years older than I am." Although many references were made to Ashtray possibly being older than he was, such as Ashtray attending a party that his father is not old enough to attend. Based on Furious Styles from Boyz n the Hood.
- Marlon Wayans as Loc Dog: Ashtray's cousin and gangsta/drug dealer/criminal. He drives a USPS delivery truck which is loaded in the back with ballistics, including a nuclear weapon. Based on O-Dog from Menace II Society, Lucky from Poetic Justice and Doughboy from Boyz n the Hood.
- Helen Martin as Grandma, Ashtray and Loc Dog's grandmother; a marijuana-smoking, foul-mouthed, church-going woman.
- Chris Spencer as Preach, Ashtray's friend and former gang member turned 'politically conscious' activist, resembling a Nation of Islam member, but is now just "confused"; he has a fetish for white girls. Based on Sharif from Menace II Society and Ali from South Central.
- Suli McCullough as Crazy Legs: Ashtray's friend; was paralyzed in a drive-by. Has a dream to be a professional dancer. Based on Chris from Boyz n the Hood.
- Tracey Cherelle Jones as Dashiki, the object of Ashtray's affections. A "hood mother" with seven kids by seven different men. Dashiki's address is 6969 Penetration Avenue. Based on Ronnie from Menace II Society and Justice from Poetic Justice and Brandi from Boyz n the Hood
- Isaiah Barnes as Doo Rag: Dashiki's oldest son and the only one of her kids who has more than one line of dialogue. He pulls a gun on Ashtray after losing a video game. When he admits he learned about guns from "cartoons and 'hood movies'", Ashtray passionately declares that he and Doo Rag are an endangered species—not because their lives are in danger, but because "rappers are taking all the good acting jobs!". The kid rolls his eyes as Ashtray lectures him about the values of education. Based on Anthony from Menace II Society.
- Darrell Heath as Toothpick, Dashiki's ex-boyfriend, who was just released from prison and still acts like he's incarcerated. He swears he will kill Ashtray for romancing Dashiki. Based on Ferris and DoughBoy from Boyz n the Hood and Ilena's Cousin from Menace II Society.
- Antonio Fargas as Old School, a friend of Ashtray and his group.
- Bernie Mac as Officer Self Hatred, a cop who harasses Ashtray and Loc Dog. As he has Ashtray pinned against his squad car, he goes on and on about how much he hates black people and anything black. Based on Officer Coffey from Boyz n the Hood.
- Terri J. Vaughn as Keisha: A possessed woman that Loc Dog met at the late night party and takes to the cargo hold of his truck. While proceeding to have sex with her, she morphs into a demonic version of herself and proceeds to force Loc Dog to have sex with her. It is unknown what happened after this. Based on Abby the 1974 blaxploitation horror film about a woman who is possessed by an African sex spirit.
- Benjamin N. Everitt as The Man, a pale white man with red hair and glasses, who systematically robs a convenience store while the Korean owners are keeping a close, racist eye on Ashtray and Loc Dog and completely ignore his crimes. When Loc Dog is firing his gun at the owners and not hitting them, The Man fires his gun once and hits a hanging light that falls on the owners and kills them. He then tosses his gun to an unwitting Ashtray and Loc Dog, who mistakenly catch it as he scratches their names off his list of black men whom he's framed for crimes and peels off a single glove.
- Keith Morris as Dave the Crackhead, a drug user apparently going through withdrawal who offers to perform fellatio in return for spare change or directions to a person's house. Based on the nameless "Basehead" character from Menace II Society.
- Keenen Ivory Wayans as The Mailman; he appears various times throughout the film shouting "Message!" whenever a moral lesson is expressed without subtlety in dialogue. At the end of the film, when Loc Dog gives a rambling speech to Ashtray, the Mailman appears, and says, "What the fuck is he talking about?"
- LaWanda Page as Old School's mom
Reception
The movie was met with a negative response from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 31% based on 26 reviews.