Next Friday

Next Friday follows in the tradition of most sequels in that instead of trying a bunch of new characters and jokes, it just rehashes a lot of the same lines and situations in a slightly different setting. Does this method of sequel making work? Check out Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, which made more money on opening weekend than the first Austin Powers film did in its entire run at the theatre.

Next Friday has much of the same cast as the original Friday, with the exception of the hilarious Chris Tucker. Tucker has since gone on to be 'big money' now, so his fee probably would have doubled the budget for this movie. However, Craig (Ice Cube), his father, Debo, and a couple of others from the original makes cameos for great effect.

So what's the story this time? Craig has decided to move out of the 'hood and in with his rich uncle in the suburbs. This is no Fresh Prince story, though. It seems that his uncle won the lottery a couple of years back. In the meantime, Debo (with whom Craig had the big fight at the end of the first movie), has broken out of jail and is out for revenge. Also, a group of latino ex-cons live down the street from Craig's uncle. They have a beautiful sister, Craig gets involved, and chaos insues.

This film is full of funny scenes. You have Craig, his cousin, and another guy working at a record store owned by a pimp named 'Pinky'. There's Craig's cousin's psycho ex-girlfriend who he met while she was 6 months pregnant, and she claims the baby is his. There's the evil Pit Bull that chases everyone down the street. It's obvious they had a little more money to spend on Next Friday, but as far as the story and dialogue goes, it doesn't measure up to the first film. Most sequels don't, though.

This movie is great if you like the first one. It's got all the crude toilet humor, plenty of marijuana references, and lots of profane language. Don't go into the theatre expecting to be moved, just go for the laughs - there's plenty of them!