Friday Details
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Companies: New Line Productions, & Ghetto Bird Productions
Director: F. Gary Gray
Producers: Patricia Charbonnet
Scriptwriters: Ice Cube, & DJ Pooh
Main Cast: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Bernie Mac, Tiny “Zeuz” Lister Jr, John Witherspoon, Regina King, and Anna Maria Horsford
Released: 26th April 1995
Running Time: 91 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Story of Friday
Friday follows two friends, the recently fired Craig and the “wanna be” pot dealer Smokey. When all his family leave for work Craig is left with nothing to do so Smokey convinces him to just relax for the day. The two sit on Craig’s porch smoking whilst typical neighborhood hijinks ensue around them. Big Worm a big-time drug dealer ,who moonlights as an Ice Cream Man, threatens to kill Craig and Smokey if Smokey doesn’t pay him. The two are later forced into avoiding a spritz of bullets from a car presumably sent by Big Worm. On top of this the neighborhood menace Deebo collides with craig. Where Craig ultimately beats Blank in a Fight.
Analysis of Friday
Friday is a true character focused comedy film. The is no big special effects, nor does it need it. The film is heart warming at its core whilst still branching away from PG material. It is after all a stoner buddy comedy film. Friday consistently manages to entertain without having to fall to cliches too much to do so. The is some dated over sexualization but nothing too untoward. Smokey is a over acted delight with his eccentric behavior often delivering some of the funniest moments of Friday. You also find yourself loving Craig’s farther played by John Witherspoon. I often found myself laughing off my seat at his antics that all too often reminded me of my own farther. The whole central family is expertly cast and all of them perform amazingly. The chemistry between all the family members makes the story more believable and down to earth. You really do feel like this family and their problems are real.
Fridays’ Sequels
They’re two sequels to Friday – Next Friday and Friday After Next. Unfortunately, both go without the pleasure of having Smokey involved in the story. With a fourth film being stuck in development hell for god knows how long. Ice Cube himself has expressed his anger and frustration multiple times at studios. I particularly remember him doing interviews blaming movie executives for not funding the movie before the beloved actor John Witherspoon sadly passed. Hopefully we will get to see Friday 4, but it will be with a heavy heart with the absence of John. The Friday trilogy will forever hold a special place on my DVD shelf. They’re grounded family and friend orientated good feeling comedy films. That never disappoint on delivering the giggles.
Summary of Friday
Friday is a stoner comedy film that still manages to have a good message and feel to it. Be trueful to your family, they may give you stick but they will support you. As was seen multiple times in some of my favorite scenes in the film. These of course being the farther to son chats between Willie and Craig. You could perceive what happens on screen to be a depiction of the hood which is why Ice Cube and DJ Pooh wished to counteract this by drawing on personal experiences when crafting characters. This allows them to show the violence without it seeming like that’s the overall tone of the Hood. The people in fact are just human with human stories and emotions. This is why I think Friday’s characters come across so relatable and believable. We all project our own experiences onto these characters.
Ice Cube
Friday was Ice Cube’s writing debut and went on to kickstart his whole film creative career. This propelled Ice Cube from main man to main man who could also write the script. His star power and potential grew over night, and I still don’t think we have received Ice Cube’s magnus opus quiet yet. With Ride Along even more successful its certain that Ice Cube isn’t done making comedic masterpieces just yet. Fun fact if you want to see Ice Cube’s soon recreate his farther writing Friday, the is scenes in Straight Outta Compton that show this! If you want to relax and laugh for 90 minutes, I can’t recommend Friday any higher!
Overall Rating: 9 – Outstanding!
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