Thank god it's Next Friday!

>> Ice Cube returns in yet another smoked-filled adventure

by SCOTT C

 Those of you who have already enjoyed the weed-induced antics of Friday most likely saw the 1995 hit after it made the move to video. Opening on very few screens in Canada, it was the wonderful world of home video that allowed this hilarious flick to "become an unprecedented hit that performed as though it was Titanic," according to Michael De Luca, president of New Line Productions. Well, as is the case for just about everything that does well on home video, the makers of Friday have concocted yet another adventure with weed in parenthesis.

 Next Friday, which opens this Friday, was written and produced by the film's star, rapper Ice Cube and partner DJ Pooh. It was directed by Steve Carr, a respected hip hop video director making his feature film debut. In this episode, Craig (Cube) moves to a California suburb to live with his lottery-rich Uncle Elroy (DC Curry) and cousin Day Day (Mike Epps). Craig's father, played by consummate black dad John Witherspoon, seems to believe that living in the suburbs will eliminate the trouble from his son's life, but we all know better. Tiny Lister returns as the immense Debo, now escaped from jail and looking for revenge on Craig for sending him to the pen in the first place.

 This movie is funny, but I still enjoyed the first one a lot more. Mike Epps, the comic chosen from a nation-wide search to play opposite Ice Cube, is talented--but he's no Chris Tucker. Tucker, who played Smokey in the first movie, is unfortunately absent from the film. His character, only referred to in passing and said to be in "rehab," was responsible for a lot of the first Friday's laugh appeal, with his over-the-top foolishness and high-pitched annoyance. All in all, I was happy to see that Ice Cube kept the writing on the same smoked-out level as the first movie, and chose a whole new crazy supporting cast to keep things moving along. Now I'm not going to say that this is a film that you should prepare for with several joints, a bong or a pipe, but I will say that I soon felt like I would be enjoying this movie a lot more if I was sitting in the comfort and privacy of my own home. :

 

Next Friday opens, oh the irony, next Friday (January 28)