Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

"Finally, the movie that proves that Justice isn't always Poetic, Jungle Fever isn't always pretty, and Higher Learning can be a waste of time."

1996 1h 29m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🥫

32%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 1,581🥫32%Rotten Tomatoes●53Metacritic★6.5IMDB · 66,024

ComedyCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When Ashtray moves to South Central L.A. to live with his father (who appears to be the same age he is) and grandmother (who likes to talk tough and smoke reefer), he falls in with his gang-banging cousin Loc Dog, who along with the requisite pistols and Uzi carries a thermo-nuclear warhead for self-defense. Will Ashtray be able to keep living the straight life?

“Finally, the movie that proves that Justice isn't always Poetic, Jungle Fever isn't always pretty, and Higher Learning can be a waste of time.”

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Cast

Shawn Wayans
Ashtray
Marlon Wayans
Loc Dog
Tracey Cherelle Jones
Dashiki
Chris Spencer
Preach
Vivica A. Fox
Ashtray's Mother
Lahmard J. Tate
Ashtray's Father
Rappin' Granny
Sister Williams
Suli McCullough
Crazy Legs

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paris Barclay
Writers: Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Phil Beauman
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paris Barclay, shot by Russ Brandt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Barnes. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Marshall Harvey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paris Barclay directs. Russ Brandt behind the camera. John Barnes scores. Marshall Harvey cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $3.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.
430 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
6Directed by Paris Barclay, shot by Russ Brandt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by John Barnes. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Marshall Harvey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans and Tracey Cherelle Jones carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Finally, the movie that proves that Justice isn't always Poetic, Jungle Fever isn't always pretty, and Higher Learning can be a waste of time.".
11IMDB entry: tt0116126 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "hip-hop", "slang", "date", "gangster".
13Released under 21 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Russ Brandt
Original score: John Barnes
Editing: Marshall Harvey
Production design: Aaron Osborne
Stunt coordinator: William Washington
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,800,000
Box office: $20,949,601
Return: 551% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
Rotten Tomatoes: 32% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 53/100
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 66,024 votes
MPAA: R