Uncle Elroy and Day Day owe money on taxes so Craig finds a way to steal from the next door neighbors to pay off the taxes so Uncle Elroy's house doesn't get put up for auction.
Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence and future prospects.
Director:
John Singleton
Stars:
Cuba Gooding Jr.,
Laurence Fishburne,
Hudhail Al-Amir
The group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Director:
F. Gary Gray
Stars:
O'Shea Jackson Jr.,
Corey Hawkins,
Jason Mitchell
A young rapper, struggling with every aspect of his life, wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.
A parody of several U.S. films about being in the 'Hood', for instance "Boyz n the Hood", "South Central", "Menace II Society", "Higher Learning" and "Juice".
It is Friday and Craig Jones (Ice Cube) is unemployed, having, yesterday, been fired. . This has lead to trouble with Smokey's supplier, Big Worm, who now wants his money, or his product back, or Smokey is a dead man. Then there's Deebo, the local bully, plus Craig's jealous, psychotic girlfriend, Joi, and Debbie, the neighbour Craig has a crush on. A lot can happen while lounging around your house on a Friday.Written by
grantss
The first movie featuring Chris Tucker and Tommy (Tiny) Lister, the second being "The Fifth Element". See more »
Goofs
When Craig asks Joi for money, Joi's arm repeatedly jumps on/off the steering wheel between shots. See more »
Quotes
Mrs. Jones:
[Talking to Dana]
You see what I said to tell us before you leave the house.
Debbie:
[Talking to Felisha]
Look at your face! Look at your face!
Felisha:
It's going to be okay.
Debbie:
No, look at your face.
Debbie:
[Talking to Deebo]
Who do you think you are?
Deebo:
Girl what are you talking about?
Debbie:
You know what I'm talking about, punk. You hit my sister like if she was a fucking man.
Deebo:
She had no business going through my pants when I was asleep!
Debbie:
My sister don't need to steal nothing from your broke ass all right.
Deebo:
It's best for you to ...
[...] See more »
Alternate Versions
TV versions also include a deleted scene with Lil' Chris and his friend sitting on the sidewalk, when Ezal runs past with a speaker under his arm. They then talk about how Ezal tried to steal from their houses. See more »
The Way You Do the Things You Do
Performed by The Temptations
Written by Smokey Robinson (as William "Smokey" Robinson) and Bobby Rogers (as Robert Rogers)
Courtesy of Motown Record Company, L.P.
by arrangement with PolyGram Special Markets See more »
(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.
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(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.