Plot: What’s it about?
Craig (Ice Cube) and Day-Day (Mike Epps) have finally gotten a place of their own, but they’re having problems with the rent. That is to say, they don’t often have the cash to pay the rent and this puts them in hot water with the landlady. She threatens them with her musclebound son, who just got out of prison and is looking to either beat someone up or turn someone into his bitch, perhaps even both. Now they have only until the end of the day to come up with the rent, or else they’re thrown out and have to deal with the landlady’s vicious son. As if it weren’t bad enough, its Christmas Eve and the two have little to celebrate. Last night someone broke into their apartment and stole their presents, but the intruder wasn’t just some crook. No, the two were robbed by a man in a Santa Claus suit, which adds even more gloom to their holiday spirits. But they have work to do, as they’ve been hired as security guards at a shopping plaza, the same one where their fathers opened up Brothers Barbecue. But Day-Day seems to think he is the sole icon of justice, which gets the two in trouble often and even costs them a chance to capture the crooked Saint Nick. And Craig has his eye on a gorgeous woman down at the pimp store, so his eyes aren’t always focused on what they should be paying attention to. Can the two somehow manage to not only scrape together rent, but stay out of trouble and get back their presents?
This is the third installment in the Friday series, but let’s hope it stands as the last one, as this franchise is running out of gas. The original Friday was great and found a sizable audience, while the second dropped off, but was still entertaining and in this third volume, its a constant hit & miss cycle with the laughs. I did like some parts of Friday After Next, but not enough to make it all that worthwhile in the end. I really enjoyed the previous two installments, but this time around, things just don’t seem as well executed. The writing seems rushed and sloppy, as if little time was taken to refine and fine tune the jokes. This results in a lot of flat gags, some of which come off as embarrassing, they’re that unfunny. Ice Cube and Mike Epps are decent, but lack the same kind of presence from the previous picture, while John Witherspoon seems misused here, which is a real shame, as he was hilarious in the prior two installments. This movie just seems too rushed and too crowded, with too much going on and not enough of it is made interesting. I think things should have been slowed down, scenes should have been simplified and then, the performances could have carried the material, instead of relying on an overload of violent humor. So unless you’re a Friday disciple, a rental should suffice for Friday After Next.
This series has been a success in terms of box office, but with this third volume, it has lost the charm it was founded on. Of course, Ice Cube returns as Craig and also serves as a producer & writer, so this is very much his project. I found the writing to be passable, but it fails to make good use of the characters, which results in some lame moments. Cube isn’t able to balance the good and bad elements in the characters, so they come off as violent, short tempered fools, which is unlike the other installments. The previous films had a sense of values, even if the characters fought and smoked weed from time to time. This was lessened in the second picture, but could still be detected, though it is gone in this third movie. As far as performance, Cube is solid as Craig, but seems to be going through the motions. Or maybe its just that his lines aren’t as humorous this time around, as his effort doesn’t seem as enjoyable. Other films with Ice Cube include The Glass Shield, Three Kings, Ghosts of Mars, Anaconda, Dangerous Ground, and Boyz N The Hood. The cast also includes John Witherspoon (The Ladies Man, Boomerang), Don Curry (Two Degrees, Next Friday), and Mike Epps (How High, Bait).
Video: How does it look?
Friday After Next is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, with a full screen edition included on the disc’s flip side. This is a New Line release and as usual, the visuals come off as refined and impressive. A minute amount of grain is visible in some scenes, but aside from that, the print is pristine and really shines. The image is clean and very sharp, so detail is high throughout and that means superb visual depth. I found colors to be vivid, with a lot of boldness and no errors, while flesh tones look natural at all times. No troubles on the contrast front either, as black levels are accurate and always well balanced. All in all, this is yet another top notch visual presentation from New Line.
Audio: How does it sound?
As far as audio, this might be a comedy, but the included Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 options offer an active experience. If you happen to be an idiot and choose the full screen side however, you won’t be able to listen to the DTS, nor access the Infinifilm features. But I doubt anyone will do that, so everyone should be able to enjoy these soundtracks, which add some serious punch and presence to the material. As expected, the music sounds excellent and allows the bass to kick deep, but the speakers have a lot to do beyond that. The sound effects are given ample life also, which means plenty of surround use throughout the picture. I had no problems with dialogue here, as vocals seem clean and clear from start to finish. This disc also includes a 2.0 surround option, as well as English subtitles, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This is one of New Line’s Infinifilm releases, so you know it has been loaded down with supplements of all kinds. As always in this line, you can enable the Infinifilm feature as you watch, which prompts you to select various behind the scenes material, or you can access the extras through the traditional menus. In this case, we have a total of six featurettes on showcase, but these all run around ten minutes, so substance isn’t deep in these pieces. But the pieces cover a wide assortment of topics, from the costumes to the Friday legacy to a more traditional (i.e. promotional) behind the scenes featurette. You can also sample two audio commentary tracks, one with the director, producer, and Ice Cube, the other with a quartet of cast members, the latter of which is quite entertaining. The cast members have a blast with the session, which makes for a fun experience, but don’t expect much real information. The other track is solid, but never goes too far beyond the basics and winds up being lackluster in stretches. This disc also includes a selection of deleted scenes (including an extended end sequence), a music video by Westside Connection, and the film’s theatrical and teaser trailers.
