This was as close to real life as a movie can get. It’s about a young African American boy in his hometown trying not to get caught up in all of the bad things that happen in his neighborhood. At the core, it’s about learning how to make good decisions. This film has a serious tone. There is some violence when the kids carry around water pistols and pretend to shoot at people and then they hear a real gunshot that ends up being either a robbery or a drive-by shooting. All in all, “Gettin’ Grown” is a wonderful film with a very much needed message of making good decisions and triumphing over the bad aspects of your environment.