Next Friday (2000) Ice Cube, John Witherspoon, Mike Epps, Justin Pierce, Don "DC" Curry, Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Tamala Jones, Lisa Rodriquez, Lady of Rage, Sticky Fingaz, Lobo Sebastian, Kym E. Whitley, and Amy Hill. Written by Ice Cube. Directed by Steve Carr. 95 minutes. Rated R, 2.5 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Edward+Johnson-Ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to ejohnsonott@prodigy.net or e-mail ejohnsonott-subscribe@onelist.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
Kurt Vonnegut acknowledged one of the great truths about life in his 1985 novel, "Galapagos." The narrator of the tale is from 1,000,000 years in the future, when mankind has evolved into beings that bear scant resemblance to present-day humans. Still, he assures us, some things never change, even in the distant future. For instance, people in that era still laugh about as much as we do now. "If a bunch of them are lying around on a beach," he says, "and one of them farts, everybody else laughs and laughs, just as people would have done a million years ago."
Vonnegut is right, of course, though too many of us are loathe to admit it. Writers like me babble endlessly about the post-modern irony of the "Scream" series or the deliciously surreal verisimilitude of "Being John Malkovich," but throw a fart joke our way and we fold up like a cheap tent. In our insular, oh-so-sophisticated little world, we turn our noses up at movies that traffic in low humor.
Unless they're old, that is. You see, old low humor is classic, while new low humor is crude and juvenile. W.C. Fields made a career playing drunken louts who routinely threatened children and we rave about his brilliance. But when Adam Sandler plays a slacker who teaches a kid to pee against a wall, we complain that he's a horrible role model whose parenting is tantamount to child abuse. If "Blazing Saddles" or "Animal House" were released today, I guarantee there would be whining about the lewd humor, not to mention the shameful objectification of women and tasteless racial and ethnic jokes.
Which brings me (finally) to "Next Friday," the sequel to Ice Cube's 1995 comedy, "Friday." The film, which features a gag involving a big pile of dog shit in its first five minutes, is packed with fart jokes. There is also considerable dope smoking, as well as crude sexual humor and numerous pratfalls. Our heroes are lazy stoners who steal, most of the women are either brassy or shrill, and the only male Hispanic characters act like Cheech and Chong on methamphetamines. In addition, "Next Friday" is sloppily assembled, with virtually no plot and absolutely no character development.
But it's funny. Imagine a live-action "Nickelodeon" slapstick comedy with lots and lots of swearing and you'll have an idea of what to expect. There isn't a sophisticated second in "Next Friday," but for those willing to loosen up and go with the flow, the burlesque is often entertaining.
The original "Friday" followed Craig (Ice Cube), a laid-back guy still living with his parents, through one day in South Central Los Angeles, climaxing with him duking it out with neighborhood bully Debo (Tommy "Tiny" Lister) and becoming a hero of sorts. The sequel picks up four years later. Debo has just broken out of prison and, at his father's insistence, Craig goes to stay with relatives in the suburbs until things settle down. Within an hour, he is up to his neck in a new set of problems.
John Witherspoon, reprising his role as Craig's pop, spends most of the movie running around with dog poop smeared on his clothes, blathering about hot sauce while frantically trying to find a bathroom. His performance is wildly over the top and I tried not to laugh at his hammy antics, but the man's twitchy abandon was impossible to resist. Likewise, Craig's sidekicks Day-Day (Indiana native Mike Epps) and Roach (skateboarder Justin Pierce) make a likable Mutt and Jeff team, sputtering and falling down a lot as they play out the film's obligatory wacky scheme.
The women get a chance to overact as well. Tamala Jones and Lady of Rage behave like "Jerry Springer" guests as D'wana and Baby D, a wrathful pair aiming their anger at Day-Day. And Kym E. Whitley is loosey-goosey as Suga, the horny girlfriend of Craig's Uncle Elroy (Don "D.C." Curry).
Ice Cube serves as the calm center of this group of loons, acting as an anchor for all the craziness, much like Mary Tyler Moore did in her old TV series (by the way, this is probably the very first time anyone has ever compared Ice Cube and Mary Tyler Moore). Cube, who also wrote the screenplay, remains an enigmatic performer. With each new role, he becomes a bit more accomplished and, oddly, more opaque. Sometimes it seems like the stoic actor is trying to disappear in his own movie, which makes him all the more interesting
Even at a relatively short 95 minutes, the slapstick and bantering loses steam towards the end. Still, "Next Friday" is mostly good lowbrow fun. Ten years from now, I doubt if this will be compared to "Blazing Saddles" or "Animal House." But anyone willing to set aside their pretensions, lie down on the beach and giggle at the farts is likely to have a fine time.
© 2000 Ed Johnson-Ott
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