Next Friday is a 2000 American stonercomedy film and the sequel to the 1995 film Friday. This is the first film to be produced by producer Ice Cube's film production company Cubevision. It was directed by Steve Carr and stars Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Don "D.C." Curry, JohnWitherspoon, and Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. The movie was theatrically released on January 12, 2000, grossing $57.3 million domestically and $59.8 million worldwide. Despite earning negative reviews from critics, it is the most successful film in the franchise in terms of box office. Another film, titled Friday After Next, was released in November 2002.
Plot
After the events of the first film that are summarized by Craig, his father Willie decides it would be safer for Craig to move to Rancho Cucamonga and live with his uncle Elroy and cousin Day-Day, who had won the lottery and were able to afford a nice house in a middle class neighborhood. Elroy spends his days consuming large amounts of marijuana and making sex tapes with his wife, Auntie Suga while Day-Day works at a record store and tries to avoid his pregnant ex-girlfriend D’Wana and her violent sister Baby D. Day-Day shows Craig around the house and neighborhood, introducing him to his neighbor Mrs. Ho-Kym. While there, they witness another neighbor family, Joker and his two brothers, return home in their lowrider. Day-Day explains to Craig that actually after winning the lottery, all of the taxes and fees that were taken out only left them with enough to buy their house and car. However, a letter carrier delivers a delinquency notice that their house could be repossessed, but Day-Day is running late for work and unable to bring it to his dad's attention first. Craig joins his aunt and uncle for a joint which is strong enough to make him pass out, and he later goes to visit Day-Day at work. While there, Day-Day finds D’Wana vandalizing his car with Baby D for the second time that day, and attempts to confront them, only to be physically attacked by Baby D. Pinky arrives at the store finding that it has been locked up while Day-Day and his friend/coworker Roach are in the back. After an armed scuffle with Craig in which Pinky mistook him for a robber, Craig gains the upper hand and holds Pinky’s gun on him, attempting to explain that he’s Day-Day’s cousin. When Day-Day returns and confirms this, Pinky fires both him and Roach. Craig, Day-Day and Roach then try to figure out how to resolve the delinquency issue so they can keep their house. Craig remembers seeing one of the Joker brothers carrying a hydraulic pump from their car inside, suspecting that they may be hiding cash inside. Craig convinces Day-Day and Roach to help him get inside the Joker’s house and see what’s inside the pump. The trio drug the Joker’s guard dog Chico with an edible Roach had given them, rendering the dog unconscious. Craig then sneaks into the Joker’s house while the three brothers are partying with girls they brought home. Craig locates the pump and confirms that drug cash is hidden inside. Narrowly avoiding detection by Baby Joker, he slips into Karla’s room where he flirts with her before escaping out of her upstairs window. Meanwhile, concerned that Craig is taking too long, Day-Day and Roach knock on the Joker’s front door, which is answered by all three brothers armed with handguns and an assault rifle. The brothers take Day-Day and Roach hostage while trying to figure out what happened to their money. After learning that Craig could be in trouble, Willie returns to the neighborhood at the same time Deebo and his fellow prison inmate Tyrone arrive, the latter two having been tracking Craig down all day after they escaped from prison so Deebo could have revenge on Craig. Willie teams up with Elroy, and the two incapacitate two of the Joker brothers and Craig is able to free Day-Day and Roach. Soon after, the police arrive and arrest all three Joker brothers on drug charges and re-arrest Deebo and Tyrone for their prison break. Craig hands the cash from the pump over to Day-Day and his uncle so they can pay off their debt and keep their house, then Craig returns home with his dad, having learned the suburbs aren’t any safer than the hood.
In the United States, the film was released on Wednesday, January 12, 2000.
Home video
Next Friday was released on DVD format on June 6, 2000. The single disc DVD contains a theatrical trailer, music videos, a "making of..." featurette, behind the scenes footage, and an alternate ending as well as cast and crew information.
Reception
Box office
Next Friday grossed $14,465,156 on its opening weekend in 1,103 theaters, averaging $13,114 per theater. The film grossed $57,328,603 in North America and $2,498,725 in the foreign box office to earn a total $59,827,328 worldwide. The film is the most successful in the franchise.
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 22% approval rating based on 65 reviews and an average rating of 3.98/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Next Friday lacks the fun of the original Friday. The movie is messy and plotless and relies on unfunny vulgar gags". On Metacritic, the film has received a score of 41 based on 25 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
