Next Friday

Next Friday
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Steve Carr
Written by	Ice Cube
Based on	Characters by Ice Cube DJ Pooh
Produced by	Ice Cube
Starring	Ice Cube Mike Epps John Witherspoon Tamala Jones Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr.
Cinematography	Christopher J. Baffa
Edited by	Elena Maganini
Music by	Terence Blanchard
Production company	Cube Vision
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date	January 12, 2000 (2000-01-12)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$11 million[1]
Box office	$59.8 million[1]

Next Friday is a 2000 American stoner comedy film and the sequel to the 1995 film Friday. It is the first film to be produced by Ice Cube's film production company Cubevision. It was directed by Steve Carr and stars Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Don "D.C." Curry, John Witherspoon, and Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. The film was theatrically released on January 12, 2000, grossing $59 million worldwide and receiving generally negative reviews from critics. A third film, titled Friday After Next, was released in November 2002.

Plot[]

After news of Deebo escaping prison and wanting revenge on Craig hits the neighborhood, Craig's 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 the suburbs. Day-Day shows Craig around the house and neighborhood. Day-Day explains to Craig that after winning the lottery, all of the taxes and fees that were taken out only left them enough to buy their house and Day-Day’s car, a BMW. However, a notice arrives that their house could be repossessed, but Day-Day is running late for work and unable to bring it to his dad's attention.

Later, Craig visits Day-Day at work. A customer comes into the store and attempts to scam Day-Day by returning a broken CD. Craig arrives and sees the customer harassing Day-Day. Craig throws him out. Day-Day hides from his pregnant ex D’Wana while Craig stalls her, but is spotted and chased by her cousin Baby D. Pinky arrives at the store finding it locked up while Day-Day and his co-worker Roach are in the back. After an armed scuffle with Craig in which Pinky mistook him for a robber, the former gains the upper hand and explains that he is Day-Day’s cousin. When Day-Day returns and confirms this, Pinky fires Day-Day and Roach. Craig, Day-Day and Roach try to figure out how to keep the house. Craig remembers seeing one of the neighbors, the Jokers, carrying a hydraulic pump. Suspecting that they may be hiding cash inside, Craig convinces Day-Day and Roach to help him get inside the Jokers house and see what’s inside the pump.

The trio drug the Jokers guard dog Chico. Craig sneaks into the Jokers house while the three brothers are partying. Craig locates the pump and confirms that cash is hidden inside, taking some for himself. He escapes out of a window. Meanwhile, Day-Day and Roach knock on the Jokers front door, which is answered by all three brothers armed with guns. The brothers take Day-Day and Roach hostage and tie them up with duct tape when they discover the money is missing, while questioning them, including where his cousin Craig is.

Willie returns to the neighborhood while unknowingly hauling Deebo and his brother Tyrone in his truck, both having been tracking Craig down after they escaped from prison so Deebo could have revenge. Craig returns to Elroy's house inquiring of the whereabouts of Day-Day and Roach. He, Willie, and Elroy deduce they are still in the Joker brothers’ house. The three decide to go get the two out themselves while Auntie Suga informs them that if they aren’t back in ten minutes she will be calling the police.

The trio sneaks into the backyard of the Jokers’ house. Joker sends Baby Joker to get a chainsaw from the toolshed, only for the latter to be knocked out by Willie. This lures out Lil Joker who Elroy incapacitates by tackling him. Willie ties the younger Jokers up and puts them in the shed. Joker goes out to look for his brothers and notices Elroy still lying on the ground due to his back giving out after tackling Lil Joker. This distraction is enough for Craig to engage in a fist fight with Joker. As Craig has Joker distracted, Elroy recovers enough to free Day-Day and Roach, who both attempted to escape while bound and gagged with duct tape on their mouths, yet fail, comically falling over to the floor in the Jokers living room. They try to help Craig with Joker, but the latter gains the upper hand and is about to shoot the trio with an AK-47 before Deebo appears and knocks him out. He acquires Joker’s rifle as Chico arrives and bites him in the arm. The police arrive and arrest the Joker brothers, Deebo, and Tyrone. Craig hands the cash from the pump over to his uncle. Craig returns home with his dad, but not before witnessing D’wana and Baby D pull up and toss a brick at Day-Day’s BMW.

Cast[]

Chris Tucker was approached to return as Smokey but he declined.^[2][3]

Soundtrack[]

The film's soundtrack, which featured appearances from Aaliyah, Eminem, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Ice Cube, N.W.A., Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, and Wyclef Jean, peaked at number five on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts, and nineteen on the Billboard 200 in 2000.

Release[]

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.^[4]

Reception[]

Box office[]

Next Friday grossed $14.5 million in its opening weekend in 1,103 theaters, averaging $13,114 per theater. The film grossed $57.3 million in North America and $2.5 million in the foreign box office, for a total $59.8 million worldwide.^[1] The film is the most-successful in the franchise.

Critical response[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 22% based on 65 reviews and an average rating of 4.1/10. The website'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."^[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.^[7]

Awards[]

2000 MTV Movie Awards

Best Comedic Performance — Ice Cube (nominated)^[8]

References[]

External links[]

• Next Friday at AllMovie
• Next Friday at IMDb
• Next Friday at Rotten Tomatoes
• Next Friday at Box Office Mojo