Friday (franchise)

Friday
Directed by F. Gary Gray (1)
Steve Carr (2)
Marcus Raboy (3)
Produced by Patricia Charbonnet
Written by Ice Cube
DJ Pooh (1)
Starring Ice Cube
John Witherspoon
Chris Tucker (1)
Mike Epps (2-3)
Don Curry (2-3)
Tom Lister, Jr. (1-2)
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Release date
1995, 2000, 2002
Country United States
Language English
Budget $24.5 million
Box office $121.5 million

Friday is a stoner comedy film franchise created by Ice Cube and DJ Pooh.[1] The series take place in South Central Los Angeles and follows the exploits of fomer worker Craig Jones and his family, who over the course of the franchise, are thrust into various conflicts that occur while living a run-down, crime-infested Neighborhood and Suburb.

Three films have been released. The first film, Friday, released in 1995, was a surprise hit and garnered a cult following. The film's success led it to receiving two sequels, Next Friday and Friday After Next, both released in 2000 and 2002 respectively. A short-lived animated series based on the films debuted in 2007 on MTV2 and lasted 8 episodes.

A fourth and final film titled, Last Friday has been confirmed to be in the works and is scheduled for a currently unknown release date.

Films

Friday (1995)

The film takes a look at one single Friday in the life of two friends, Craig Jones (Ice Cube) and Smokey (Chris Tucker), in South Central Los Angeles. Craig has recently been fired from his job while attempting to collect his wages, as he was allegedly caught on camera stealing cardboard boxes from UPS, although he claims innocence. Throughout the day, friends and local neighborhood characters pass through, including the hulking neighborhood bully Deebo (Tommy Lister, Jr.). The film's subplot focuses on drug dealer Big Worm (Faizon Love), who warns Craig and Smokey to collect $200 worth of marijuana they smoked (which was supposed to be sold) no later than 10:00 that evening, or Craig and Smokey will be killed.

In the end, Craig manages to overcome all of the day's tribulations, save for finding employment; he and Smokey are able to pay Big Worm, he confronts Deebo and successfully beats him after all of his bullying to everyone else, and he and his pretty neighbor Debbie (Nia Long) hook up.

Next Friday (2000)

Next Friday is a 2000 stoner comedy film, and the sequel to the 1995 film Friday. This is the first film to be produced by producer Ice Cube's film production company Cubevision. The film is directed by Steve Carr, and stars Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Don "D.C." Curry, John Witherspoon, and Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr.

In the sequel, Deebo has sworn revenge against Craig for beating him up and putting him in jail for four years. He is joined by his little brother, Tyrone (Sticky Fingaz), whom he escaped jail with. Craig's father, Willie decides to send him up to Rancho Cucamonga and live with his uncle's family until Deebo is back in jail. It's there, he learns about the financial problems that Day-Day and his father, Elroy, face. He is also informed by their Korean neighbor, Mrs. Ho-Kim (Amy Hill) with the problems of Karla's older brothers: Joker (Jacob Vargas), Lil' Joker (Lobo Sebastian) and Baby Joker (Rolando Molina). When Craig learns about the drug money hidden in a pipe kept in Joker's room, Craig conspires with Day-Day and Roach to steal it so they can use the money to pay off the debts.

Friday After Next (2002)

At 3:37am on Christmas Eve, Craig (Ice Cube) and Day-Day (Mike Epps) are robbed by a fake Santa Claus (Rickey Smiley) as he stole their presents, Craig's CD collection, Day-Day's baby pictures and a big sandwich. Craig and Day-Day get jobs as rent-a-cops in a strip mall where Willie (John Witherspoon) and Elroy (Don "D.C." Curry) opened up a rib joint, called "Bros. BBQ". They owe rent to their apartment building's manager, Ms. Pearly (BeBe Drake) who threatens the two with the attentions of her burly homosexual son, Damon Pearly (Terry Crews). Craig is in love with Donna, the girlfriend of a pimp named Money Mike (Katt Williams) who treats her poorly and Craig and Day-Day throw a rent party to get the money for Ms. Pearly.

Last Friday (TBA)

According to John Witherspoon, the fourth installment of the series has been greenlit as of April 2017.[2] DJ Pooh reveals in an interview on Drink Champs that he's working on Last Friday with Ice Cube.[3] On May 2017, Mike Epps and John Witherspoon teased the upcoming film in a video on Instagram by asking each other if they knew anything about it. It has been confirmed the film is in the works.[4] As of April 2018, Ice Cube stated "Right now we’re still writing the movie, making sure that’s ahead of the curve and not behind the curve. But I believe we’ll start shooting, hopefully by the end of this year." [5] In May 2018, Mike Epps posted a video and image on Instagram with Ice Cube, teasing fans, and they assumed that the film is in production. [6] However, the footage was for the Friday film inspired Big 3 season 2 commercial, and it teased what Last Friday would look like. In June 2018, Ice Cube revealed that he was finishing the script. In August, John Witherspoon confirmed that filming of Last Friday would begin by the end of the year.[7]

Television

Friday: The Animated Series (2007)

Cast and characters

Characters Films Animated series
Friday Next Friday Friday After Next Last Friday Friday:
The Animated Series
1995 2000 2002 TBA 2007
Craig Jones Ice Cube Phil LaMarr
Cree Summer
(infant)
Mr. William "Willie" Jones John Witherspoon John DiMaggio
Deebo Tom Lister Jr. Kevin Michael Richardson
Clarence "Smokey" Chris Tucker Chris Tucker
(archive footage)
Khary Payton
Debbie Nia Long N/A
Mrs. Betty Jones Anna Maria Horsford Anna Maria Horsford
(archive footage)
Anna Maria Horsford Cree Summer
Dana Jones Regina King
Big Worm Faizon Love Fazion Love
(archive footage)
Pastor Clever Bernie Mac
Red DJ Pooh
Mrs. Parker Kathleen Bradley
Mr. Parker Tony Cox
Joann Vickilyn Reynolds Khary Payton
Ezel Anthony Johnson N/A
Joi Paula Jai Parker
Felisha Parker Angela Means
Lil' Chris Jason Bose Smith N/A
Stanley Ron Riser
Daymond "Day-Day" Jones Mike Epps
Uncle Elroy Jones Don "D.C." Curry N/A
Pinky Clifton Powell
Joker Jacob Vargas
Karla Lisa Rodriguez
Roach Justin Pierce
Tyrone Kirk Jones
Auntie Suga Kym E. Whitley
Lil Joker Lobo Sebastian Silent cameo
Baby Joker Rolando Molina
D'wana Tamala Jones
Baby D' Robin Allen
Money Mike Katt Williams N/A
Donna K.D. Aubert
Damon Pearly Terry Crews
Robber Santa Claus Rickey Smiley Silent cameo

References

  1. James, Caryn (April 26, 1995). "FILM REVIEW; Replacing Rap's Anger With a Sense of Humor". The New York Times.
  2. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/ice-cube-reportedly-working-new-friday-movie-article-1.3085511
  3. http://ambrosiaforheads.com/2017/04/dj-pooh-last-friday-chris-tucker-ice-cube-video/
  4. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6914708/
  5. https://www.si.com/nba/2018/04/23/ice-cube-big3-friday-nate-robinson-carlos-boozer-amare-stoudemire
  6. http://theboombox.com/ice-cube-mike-epps-john-witherspoon-last-friday-movie/
  7. https://comedyhype.com/john-witherspoon-says-last-friday-is-confirmed-to-start-shooting-this-year/
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