THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Before the 2010s gave an overload of Christmas sequels for popular comedies, Friday was arguably one of the first films to go through such a phase.
PLOT
Friday After Next takes around the infamous holiday. Craig and Day Day live in their own apartment in South Central, but they were robbed by a disguised Santa Claus burglar (Rickey Smiley) the night before Christmas Eve. He took their gifts along with their rent money that they need to pay before Christmas Day. Their landlord Mrs. Pearly (Bebe Drake) demands for their payment or else they will put up with her son Damon, who recently got released from prison after a 12 year sentence. As the day continues, the two cousins begin their new job as security guards for a shopping center. There, their fathers Willy and Elroy run a restaurant called ‘Bros BBQ’. They meet their boss Moly (Maz Jobrani) who runs the donut shop named after him, along with the new store named ‘Pimps and Hoes’, ran by an actual pimp named Money Mike. Early on in the shift, they are robbed again by the burglar but they fail to catch him. During the day, they stop two people from robbing Pimps and Hoes. They quickly befriend Mike and his employee/girlfriend Donna. Mike offers them cash but Craig turns it down and instead invites them to a Christmas party hosted by them. During their lunch break, they are chased by grandsons of carolers that Day Day chased off for loitering. The group find Moly instead and beat him up for allegedly hiding them. When Craig and Day Day overheard that they took out the last guards, they intentionally get themselves fired by Moly as he accuses them of lazing despite being on a lunch break. Since they were fired in front of their family, Willy calls the Department of Health on Willy. At night, the Christmas Party is now turned into a rent party in order for the cousins to recoup the stolen rent money. A lot goes down during the party: Mrs. Pearly attempts to make a move on Willy after he uses her restroom, but is stopped by Craig’s mother Betty (Anna Maria Hansford). Craig does attempt to make a move on Donna but Day Day interferes. However, she still has interest in him. Damon was invited to the party as well and due to being homosexual, he aggressively goes after Money Mike. However, the pimp defends himself grabbing his testicles with pliers, which viciously hurts him. He attempts to have Craig hold on to the pliers in order for him to leave, but Damon breaks free and chases him across the neighborhood. As they’re still outside, Craig and Day Day spot the burglar across the street and find his hideout. They assault the man and chase him all over the neighborhood as well. Not only do they encounter the same grandsons of the carolers, but also an older man with a shotgun who temporarily chases the protagonists for trespassing. The chase ends when the burglar gets ran over by Pinky, who had also attended the party. When Craig and Day Day catch up, they get their presents back. The film ends with Craig narrating how he got covered with the rent money, was able to convince Donna to come back but Damon is still chasing Money Mike.
THOUGHTS
You know I’ve been debating on how I truly feel about this movie. And to be honest, it’s okay of a sequel. Director Marcus Raboy succeeds in making Ice Cube’s script as funny as expected but this is like one of those sequels that are made just to be a sequel. It doesn’t have the first film’s message on how the hood can be a fun place, but focuses on how you can overcome negativity on the most wonderful time of the year. That’s a good theme, but I still prefer the original. This leads to me getting picky about things that occurred in the story throughout. First off, why the hell is Pinky at the party? Clifton Powell is hilarious as Pinky but when the hell did he make amends with Craig & Day Day? I have a hard time believing water is under the bridge between them. Also, I know it’s funny how Elroy beats a kid that disrespects him but where are the parents? I don’t believe parents would leave their kids alone with strangers, in an area that’s supposed to be the hood. I also think it is stupid for Damon to assault Money Mike in a party with many people in attendance. I’m not trying to root for the villains here but that is just reckless to do. Lastly, why do Craig and Day Day have the dog Chico? I remember it was Roach that took him in the prior film. I understand that actor Justin Pierce had died but I don’t think the dog needed to be there. It is funny that he bit the intruding Mrs. Pearly but it surprises me how she didn’t call animal control after that. If you ignore all of these flaws, I think you’ll have a good laugh out of this. The main reason I keep coming back to this film is going to be the cast. Ice Cube & Mike Epps still have good chemistry in this follow up, whereas Cube still brings the most maturity with Craig and Epps brings the hysterical cowardliness as Day Day. Epps is even a little bit funnier here when discovering that he is old man with the shotgun. John Witherspoon & ‘DC’ Don Curry still have good chemistry together as well due to their hilarious bickering playing the brothers Willy and Elroy. The breakout Terry Crews really caught me off guard on making Damon more funny than expected. Seeing a tough guy like him battle with his own sexuality normally sounds like something for a more dramatic film but seeing him portray the conflict, I just couldn’t have a straight face about it, especially when he’s dancing to ‘How Do U Want It’ by Tupac. Craig is basically a womanizer if he is able to succeed with winning over Donna in the end because KD Aubert is another beautiful woman whose heart is won by him. Last but not least, the addition of Katt Williams was a delight as Money Mike. He was so funny as this over the top depiction of a pimp, I could never get through the rest of the movie when he speaks. His exchange with Damon got me bawling of laughter as it completely got me off guard. Overall, Friday After Next is a solid sequel to enjoy during the holidays. If you want to change up your holiday watchlist, I hope this one is up your alley.
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