After Next Friday’s failed attempt to follow up the 1995 hit, Friday, Ice Cube, DJ Pooh and new to the party director, Marcus Raboy attempt to complete the trilogy with a Christmas film of sorts. Friday After Next follows Craig Jones (Ice Cube) and his cousin Day-Day (Mike Epps) on their Christmas journey through the hood. When a fake Santa Claus breaks into their apartment on Christmas Eve and steals all of their rent money, he creates a chain reaction of ridiculous events that changes the landscape of the town in which Craig and Day-Day live. The two will attempt to find (and hold) a job to help make enough money for rent, salvage their plans for a Christmas party with the neighborhood and, once again, get the girl.
With a quick introduction to the actual plot, director Marcus Raboy engages audiences and gives them hope for a complete film, rather than the fractured attempt of Steve Carr just two years prior. Carr is quick to reintroduce Day-Day and Craig and let audiences know that Friday After Next will follow in the footsteps of the first installment of the trilogy and will contain more physical comedy than before. He perfectly sets up the film for success, and, just as quickly, slows everything down and makes viewers wait. After the opening scene, audiences see the film cut to the opening credits. These credits while animated and fun (to some degree) last somewhere around five minutes. They create a lull in the film and the story, causing audiences to lose some interest early in the development of Craig and Day-Day’s Christmas shenanigans. In the grand scheme of things, the opening credits are not a deal breaker, but they do create unnecessary downtime that is frustrating to the audience.
As usual, Ice Cube delivers hilariously raunchy comedy that keeps audiences engaged and begging for more. Mike Epps, too, is charming in his arrogance and stupidity, and, being seven years removed from Friday, Epps no longer has to fill the void left by Chris Tucker and simply gets to be himself. It is almost as if a weight is lifted off of Epps’ shoulders that allows him to thrive and succeed as a complimentary actor to Ice Cube. Being that far removed from the initial installment of the series allows the audience to see Day-Day as a separate character, rather than just a replacement for Tucker’s Smokey. Furthermore, not having to compare two beloved characters allows audiences the ability to better appreciate the film as a whole.
This relief provides Raboy, Ice Cube and Pooh some levity and the ability to worry about just this film rather than developing a film that compares to previous installments. The film, as a whole, is a breath of fresh air and a step in the right direction for the series. Seeing Friday After Next follow a story from beginning to end is refreshing and gives audiences a reason to stay engaged. The comedy is the same, the acting is the same and the results are what audiences might expect. While it seems this might make the film mundane, it is everything that fans of the series are looking for, and Ice Cube, Raboy, Epps and DJ Pooh get it right. They succeed in making what was initially the final installment of the series. Now, with promises of a fourth installment (and the return of Chris Tucker’s Smokey) fans have hope for the return of Craig, Day-Day and the rest of the gang.
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