Next Friday

Next Friday

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DVD Reviews of Next Friday

DVD Review: OK, I suppose...
Summary: 3 Stars

The plot is very much a rehash of the original - it's another Friday, and Craig Jones has another set of problems to face. His arch-nemesis, Deebo, has escaped from prison and is after him, so Craig's father decides to hide him out in a suburban area where his Uncle Elroy bought a luxury home after winning the lottery. Craig expects the area to be peaceful - but the opposite turns out to be true. The next-door neighbors are the Joker brothers, a trio of Mexican players with a mean dog named Chico and a bone to pick with Craig and Day-Day. Day-Day's old squeeze, D'Wana is after him for impregnating her, and takes her anger out on his new BMW. Worst of all, Uncle Elroy has spent all of his money on Viagra and now can't pay his taxes, meaning that the house is going to be seized and auctioned off the next day unless Craig and Day-Day can figure out a way to get the money ahead of time. Oh, yeah, and Deebo is hot on Craig's trail and soon to catch up to him.

Many people seem to be dissapointed by the fact that Chris Tucker's character, Smokey, who drove the original film as much as Ice Cube himself, is absent from this movie. I was a little dissapointed, but frankly, this movie introduces plenty of hilarious new characters to compensate. For me personally, the shortest Joker brother (Jacob Vargas) really made this film funny with his Mexican stereotype humor, even if his screen time was mostly limited to the last third or so of the film. Day-Day (Mike Epps), Craig's cousin is klutzy, stupid, and sometimes annoying, but somehow manages to hold his own in the film. Uncle Elroy (Don 'DC' Curry) is a bit annoying as well with his rancorous voice, but his cracks about Viagra and his player days are funny. Some more memorable characters include Roach (Justin Pierce), Suga (Kim Whitley), D'Wana (Tamala Jones), and Pinky (Clifton Powell). And of course, John Witherspoon and Tom 'Tiny' Lister reprise their roles as Mr. Jones and Deebo, respectively, and still come off as well as before.

Part of the problem with this film is that it isn't as intelligent a movie as Friday. Friday was a comedy that also wasn't afraid to get serious about issues such as narcotics and violence. In a definite nod to the mainstream, Next Friday's humor is more run-of-the-mill - fart jokes, stereotypes (racial and otherwise), and sexual references. This cheapens the feel of the movie, but what works is that some of the jokes really are memorable enough. Whether it's Joker with the 'Aztec Warrior' or Day-Day's problems with D'Wana, this film somehow manages to make me laugh everytime I watch it. Some of the jokes really are THAT good. Some of the jokes are also a little over the top, however (i.e., one instance that had my face twisted involved a subtle reference to a dog ejaculating on Joker late in the film.)

Despite its rather tried-and-true set of jokes, some annoying characters, and the absence of Smokey, I can still recommend Friday to comedy-seekers or fans of the original. You may not treasure this movie like you would the original, but it's still top-notch entertainment for your dollar.

Description of Next Friday

DVD Features:
Alternate endings
DVD ROM Features
Gag Reel
Music Video
Theatrical Trailer