The Wood is a 1999 American coming-of-age comedy drama film directed by Rick Famuyiwa and starring Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs.

The story flashes back to Mike as a youth when he first encounters Roland and Slim, his first real crush on a girl named Alicia, and the three young men's misadventures as teenagers growing up in 1980s Inglewood, California (aka "the Wood").

On a dare from Slim and Roland, Mike reluctantly grabs Alicia's butt, leading to a physical altercation with her older brother and Blood gang member, Stacey.

Flashing back to the 1980s, the boys are on their way to the first dance of the year, stopping at a convenience store that gets robbed by Stacey.

Mike, returning to their memories when they were juniors in high school, remembers them thinking about sex, ways to get it and making a lot of bets as to who has it first.

Despite both of them already being in a relationship with somebody else, one day Mike and Alicia walk to her house from the library talking about the homecoming dance.

The film holds a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 56 reviews, with the critical consensus: "A charming piece of work with believable characters.

"[2] Reviewing for the Chicago Sun-Times in July 1999, Roger Ebert called it "a sweet, lighthearted comedy" and applauded Famuyiwa for capturing members of the cinematically marginalized African-American middle class.

The project was set to be produced by Paramount Television Studios, with Justin Hillian writing and Famuyiwa directing the pilot.