Feature Review | Friday After Next
Written by: Brian Orndorf

1995’s “Friday” was a laid back, pot-smoking comedy that felt like a long summer day with nothing to do. 2000’s “Next Friday,” upped the pace and changed the focus, but still remained a leisurely affair. The new “Friday After Next,” is something else entirely - if they ever need a cure for narcolepsy, this is the film to study. An aggressively paced, rowdy sequel that never, ever stops, “Friday After Next” takes the series in an entirely new direction: out of control.

Back in the hood after spending some time with his Uncle Elroy (Don “DC” Curry) in the suburbs, Craig (Ice Cube), and his cousin Day Day (Mike Epps), are suffering through a lousy Christmas holiday when their presents and rent money are stolen by a robber dressed as Santa. Forced back into the working world, the two get jobs as security men at a local strip mall. “Friday After Next” details Craig and Day Day’s first Friday on the job, as they dodge an evil landlord (Bebe Drake), disrupt holiday carols from some old ladies, meet gorgeous women (including K.D. Aubert), thwart some crackhead shoplifters, get yelled at by their middle-eastern boss (Maz Jobrani), and plan a party that will bring holiday cheer to all.

I must give credit to writer/producer/star Ice Cube for taking the sporadically funny, message-minded comedy in “Friday,” and turning it into the viable comedic franchise that it is today. “Next Friday” was a such a marked improvement over the original, that hopes were high for Cube to top himself with this new installment. But while Cube did up the ante here, he upped it in all the wrong places. Like a bat out of hell, “Friday After Next” is such a cyclone of jokes, characters, situations, and general visual nonsense, that one needs a seat belt and current physical just to keep up. It’s rather insane how fast this movie flows, not just in pace, but also in material to handle. Cube has thrown everything he could into this production, and without much of an attempt to sort it all out, this new “Friday” isn’t quite as successful as the last one.

That’s not to say there isn’t fun to be had. I enjoy how Cube writes all the action for one location, and then allows the insanity to build throughout the day. His ear for urban silliness is just as eagerly welcomed. But “Friday After Next” simply gets away from him, spinning deliriously through prison sex jokes, female facial hair gags, holiday trimmings, L.A.P.D. razzings (one officer’s badge name simply reads “A. Hole”), returning characters from “Next Friday,” Cube and Epps’s own shockingly limp interplay, and landing at the climactic party where the comedy explodes like a bomb sending little bits of funny shrapnel everywhere. I laughed a lot at “Friday After Next,” but I spent as much time wondering where the brakes were on this thing.

The golden goose of “Next Friday” was the introduction of comedian Mike Epps. In replacing the monotonous Chris Tucker as Cube’s sidekick, Epps infused the “Friday” series with a new playfulness, and a willingness to get a little silly for the laughs. Epps was comic perfection in “Next Friday” (as he was in his other Cube collaboration, “All About The Benjamins”), but “Friday After Next” plays at such an obscenely high pitch, that it drowns out what Epps has to offer. He resorts to yelling just to be heard. Thankfully, to help Epps out, there is hilarious supporting work from Katt Micah Williams at Money Mike, a Prince-lookalike, high maintenance pimp, Terry Crews as sexually liberated parolee Damon (who has his eye, and other body parts, on Money Mike), and the always reliable John Witherspoon as Craig’s intestinally-challenged father. As much as I wanted to enjoy Epps this time around, he just isn’t a match for the sheer velocity of this chapter.

I doubt any hardcore fans of “Friday” will recognize their beloved film in this second sequel. And while there are enough laughs to go around, I think someone needs to drop a sedative in Ice Cube’s coffee before we’re subjected to a potentially strobe-like “Friday After Friday After Next.”

Grade: 7 out of 10     

COMMENTS
Date/Time of Posting:  Nov 21 2002 / 10:29:08
IP Address:  65.213.159.130
name = Jason
Email = jskotz@yahoo.com
comments = You have got to be kidding me!  My friends and I all loved "Friday" but "Next Friday" was a worthless piece of shit.  We ALL thought it was horrible and couldn't even watch the whole film.  I've tried a couple of times to sit through it and it was one of worst movies ever made.  I've talked to other people who feel the same way.  I don't know what movie you saw but after this review I think I'll skip this one!

Date/Time of Posting:  Nov 21 2002 / 19:58:14
IP Address:  67.202.63.34
name = John Pavlich
Email = kungfubear@msn.com
comments = I wanted to comment on some of the things that were said in regards to Friday After Next. I'm gonna wait for it on video and here's why: First off, while the movie may be energetic, that doesn't necessarily make it any more funnier. Chris Tucker was anything but boring. He and Cube made an interesting pair, but it's easy to see why he passed on the two sequels. Friday After Next was just plain unfunny. While admittedly, it had its inspired moments, it missed the mark most of the time. This was for two reasons: 1. Many of the jokes were tired and unoriginal ("El Negro instead of El Nino", come on!) and 2. Both sequels seem to be missing what made the first one so charming: Warmth. The first movie had warmth, a light-heartedness to the proceedings, with a universal message, and a strong sense of what it was trying to say. Neither of the sequels seem to have anything to say. They've more or less become an example of what happens when you take a sitcom and try to stretch it out into two hours. We don't need all these new characters infesting the screen like walk-ons in a sketch comedy act. What we need is a return to the fold. What happened to Craig's family? What happened to Nia Long's character and why is Craig not with her? Why is Johnny Witherspoon reduced to a cameo appearance, while a bunch of forgettable strangers fill the screen? Surely Chris Tucker can have enough sacks of money by now from doing Rush Hour films, so that he can pay his old pal Cube at least a visit? Why must we be subjected to a series of stereotypical rejects? Being a white guy, it's hard to relate to these sequels because the characters are so unbelievably blown over the top. I don't know anybody like that, but the first movie was much more accessible. It didn't matter what race you were because there was a universal message of standing up for yourself, a message of doing what's right and not letting your temper get the better of you. At least, that's what I got from it. All these latter films seem to remind me is, don't do drugs and don't watch too much TV. It'll make you stupid and annoying to be around. But hey, maybe that's just me. Maybe I saw what was so entertaining about the first one, while Ice Cube and others just saw the marketing potential. But, if comedy is so universal, why am I not laughing? I think people (Cube included), should take a look at the first film again. The opening shot of the sneakers strung over the telephone wire gave us a hint that we were in for something special. I sure would like to feel that way again, even if it's just for a little bit. I miss the human side of Friday. The comedy of it can be found anywhere. Just a thought. Thanks for your time. -John.