Next Friday

(2000) *



Well my sudden enthusiasm for Stonerthon Weekend transformed into panic when it occurred to me that I didn't own any qualifying movies. I suppose this makes me a typical unprepared stoner. Fortunately Rasputin Records rescued me with their obscenely massive assortment of $0.99 VHS tapes including the 2 Friday sequels! Yay!

Did I say "yay"? I meant "ouch".

So in this Worst Sequel of All Time nominee, Craig (Ice Cube) moves to into his uncle's house in the suburbs where he navigates his way through a meandering, highly unsatisfying series of misadventures. Debo is out of prison and looking for revenge and periodically appears for decreasingly interesting confrontations. Since that doesn't provide nearly enough tension to carry a full length, another more irritating group of antagonists are introduced in the form of obnoxious Mexican caricatures who seek to lower the bar even further. They really suck and they're not funny. Trust me.

Oh and by the way Smokey won't be joining us today as he's in "rehab". (An utterly disgraceful copout explanation if you ask me. The Smokey we knew and loved may have had his problems but there's no way he would have ended up in rehab.) The sidekick role is handed over to cousin Day-Day. Mike Epps puts forth a forgettably bland performance and isn't able to evoke any kind of emotion other than worry.

The likeable, strong-willed women from the original Friday (Craig's mom and sister) are absent and replaced by generic, run-of-the-mill bitches and ho's who enjoy being bitches and ho's. The only female character who's not a walking blow-up doll is Craig's Mexican love interest. (I believe they were striving for a Romeo & Juliet thing but who the hell knows what they were thinking.) And while she seems nice, she still doesn't display any traces of an original thought.

All of this I would gleefully overlook in exchange for a few laughs. No such luck. Save your stash.