REVIEW (WEB EXCLUSIVE)



In his recent hit Barbershop, Ice Cube rediscovered the charm, energy and innocence that made the first Friday totally watchable despite the stereotypical characters, directionless plot and tired clichés about the 'hood. Too bad the same can't be said for Friday After Next.

In the franchise's third installment, Craig (Cube) and his cousin Day-Day (Mike Epps) have moved out of their parents' houses and share an apartment in the ghetto. In the opening scene, a robber wearing a Santa Claus suit breaks into their pad, throttles Craig and steals Christmas presents and rent money. The two roommates are forced to take jobs as security guards in a Los Angeles strip mall where their family has opened a BBQ joint.

The plot, like the dialogue, feels as if it was improvised as the camera rolled. Cube, who has become a decent actor in his own right, seems all too aware of the movie's slapdash nature, listlessly arguing with donut-eating cops, running from local gangsters and seducing a comely clerk at a store called "Pimp N' Ho's."

Most critics will probably pan this film and comment on the continued devolution of the franchise, which has unwittingly become a parody of a parody of an urban life. The language is crass and the relentless violence played for humor is unsettling (there's an attempted rape sequence where the male victim clamps pliers on his same sex attacker's genitals). But less discerning fans will find some laughs in the film, especially with flamboyant pint-sized pimp Money Mike (Katt Williams).

--Tim Swanson