Friday (1995)

It's Friday, and Craig and Smokey must come up with $200 they owe a local bully or there won't be a Saturday.

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writers:

Ice Cube, DJ Pooh

Stars:

Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ice Cube	...	Craig Jones
Chris Tucker	...	Smokey
Nia Long	...	Debbie
Tom Lister Jr.	...	Deebo (as Tiny 'Zeus' Lister Jr.)
John Witherspoon	...	Mr. Jones
Anna Maria Horsford	...	Mrs. Jones
Regina King	...	Dana Jones
Paula Jai Parker	...	Joi
Faizon Love	...	Big Worm
DJ Pooh	...	Red
Angela Means	...	Felisha
Vickilyn Reynolds	...	Joann
Ronn Riser	...	Stanley
Kathleen Bradley	...	Mrs. Parker
Tony Cox	...	Mr. Parker

Storyline

It is Friday and Craig Jones (Ice Cube) is unemployed, having been fired yesterday. This has lead to trouble with Smokey's (Chris Tucker's) supplier, Big Worm (Faizon Love), who now wants his money, or his product back, or Smokey is a dead man. Then there's Deebo (Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr.), the local bully, plus Craig's jealous, psychotic girlfriend, Joi (Paula Jai Parker), and Debbie (Nia Long), the neighbor Craig has a crush on. A lot can happen while lounging around your house on a Friday.

---

Plot Keywords:

adult lives at home | hat | drug user | drug | drugs | 

---

Taglines:

a lot can go down between thursday and saturday...

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong language and drug use, and for a brutal fight

Did You Know?

Trivia

Craig's mother can be seen pouring the last of the sugar into her coffee while eating breakfast.

---

Goofs

When Craig's dad is telling him that he has a choice between using a gun or his hands for protection, Craig raises his hands to just below his chin. The camera angle changes twice and you see his hands raised above his chin and then back below his chin.

---

Quotes

Smokey: I've been smokin' ever since I was two.

---

Alternate Versions

On the USA Network airings, extra and alternate footage has been inserted to bring up the film's running time and to replace some of the more harsh language. Among other things, this version contains:

• a scene where we are introduced to Felicia, where she is asking Craig to borrow something;
• the "you got knocked the fuck out" scenes have been replaced with alternately shot footage of Smokey, most notably the last scene where he says "You got knocked the hell out!... Payback's a mother, ain't it? Peace!"
• the ending scene is an alternate take, where the "I was just bullshittin'" line is replaced by "I was just playin'!".

---

Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Ice Cube/Heather Graham/Kelsea Ballerini/Glenn Kotche (2016)

---

Soundtracks

Hoochie Mama
Performed by 2 Live Crew
Written by Luther Campbell (as L. Campbell), Mr. Mixx (as D. Hobbs), Brother Marquis (as M. Ross), and Fresh Kid Ice (as C. Wong Won)
Courtesy of Luke Records

User Reviews

One of the funniest films of 1995

(Re-review in 2015): It's interesting to see how this has been labeled the first "Hood" comedy. I'm sure there have been others - though written by, of all people, Joel Schumacher, I've always thought of 1976's Car Wash as the grand-daddy of them. It's also become a benchmark for stoners; for the 20th anniversary, it was screened for a special event on 4/20. Sadly, I couldn't attend full of the green stuff, but it was still an enjoyable experience seeing it again. Not great, but good.

For all of the comparisons to it being Boyz N tha Hood as a crude comedy, that it is in part. But it's also like the Watts equivalent of something closer Clerks, also by first-time filmmakers: it's mostly about two guys who don't have much going on with their lives or prospects or action, but they're surrounded by so many 'lively' personalities and moments that are meant to get BIG laughs, regardless of a story structure that is super-strong outside of the Day-In-The-Life thing. And both borrow of course from Do the Right Thing, though Cube actually goes for his own version of the violent climax with a fight. The lack of any cops shows this is a fairly insulated world. Works for me.

If it doesn't really have the same existential heft as Clerks, well, it's not fully trying to be that anyway. What we get here also, of course, is the breakthrough for Chris Tucker - an opportunity he'd only really pursue for another few years before spending his life, it appears, on Rush Hour checks (and a surprise guest spot in Silver Linings Playbook, of all things). His work here is still electrifying and high-charged, though maybe this time I saw more of the obvious "tics" of the character (like, we get it, the Angel Dust bit is one of the major highlights of the movie, but can't you move on?) And Cube is good as straight man for Tucker's foole, and has a few moments too.

This is one of those movies I watched a LOT 'back in the day' as one might say. It's really a movie, despite being rated R, for 13 year olds, black or white, and seeing it at 13 made as big an impression as seeing Clerks or Pulp Fiction or whatever. At the time I thought it was that good on the level. But some things do last better than others, and the seams in Friday show much more over time. Some bits don't work - the crackhead (?) hustler is hit or miss, mostly great in the "HEY, SMOKY BACk HERE TAKING A S***!" bit - though Tony Lister, DEEBO of course in capital letters, is still amazing. And I found myself laughing often through the film, in part due to things still working, like anything with Bernie Mac (and Tony Cox!), and sometimes just nostalgia. It surprised me just how much I remembered in terms of dialog - if only I remembered everything from school like this, I'd be probably a smarter man today... oh well.

Bottom line, enough of it holds up to recommend as a fun comedy, but the effect of 20 years of stoner/hood/black comedies have diluted some of its effectiveness; any time Craig narrated, or that quick montage of 'things that happened today' right before the fight, drag the movie down. And why do they go OUTSIDE knowing that the drive-by is going to happen? That they might shoot the houses whether or not they're there? Doesn't make sense.

Maybe I'm putting too much thought into it here. But, for what it was, and is, it's fun, dirty stuff.

Details

Official Sites:

HBOMAX Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 April 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Friday

Filming Locations:

1418 W 126th St Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,589,341, 30 April 1995

Gross USA:

$27,467,564

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,215,918

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Priority Films (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 97 min (director's cut) 97 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (flashback scenes)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1