During his time at the Sundance Director's Lab, Famuyiwa perfected the film's script and identified close to half of the cast, Omar Epps and Taye Diggs included. In the film, the characters played by Epps and Richard T. Jones struggle to bring Diggs' character back to consciousness after he unexpectedly becomes intoxicated a couple hours before his own wedding. While attempting to sober him up and bring him back to reality, the three friends from junior high reminisce on their times as adolescents in "the Wood," an affectionate abbreviation for their hometown of Inglewood.