Friday

Friday (1995)

Runtime: I saw the Director's Cut and that's 97 minutes long

Directed by: F. Gary Gray

Starring: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tiny Lister, Jr., John Witherspoon

From: New Line Cinema

Last night I watched this comedy on the favorite day of the year for marijuana smokers. This was not a coincidence and no I am not someone who enjoys the ganja myself. I explain why below in my Letterboxd review and I'll return tomorrow night.

I had seen this film several times before but last night was the first time I had watched it on the big screen, and it was the Director's Cut; it was presented by Fathom Events and it was not a coincidence this was done on April 20. In fact, several people in the audience sounded like they happily partook in the 4/20 festivities before making it there! I was happy to see it in such a manner.

This is still a popular cult hit and I've always enjoyed this “day in the life” comedy, despite how I am far removed from the movie's South Central LA setting; I grew up in a town in Illinois, not poor and it was a community with a number of farms. While there are many funny moments in this tale of Craig (Ice Cube) and his wacky pot-loving friend Smokey (Chris Tucker; as always a little of him goes a long way) experiencing a random Friday with all the wacky characters that live and congregate on and around their block, there are also serious moments, such as drug dealer Big Worm (Faizon Love) looking for revenge against Smokey for smoking his weed instead of selling it and the presence of hulking neighborhood bully Deebo (Tiny Lister, Jr.).

Even though a lot of it is a silly stoner comedy made for the African-American audience, you can actually relate to the plot and such things as young adults dealing with their family, worrying about having and keeping a job, romantic relationships and thinking about having a new girlfriend, and having a loyal friend you love hanging out with even if sometimes you want to kick their ass because they are annoying or do stupid things. The movie is quite entertaining not just because of the humor that is still amusing today but because of the subtext and the more serious aspects.

Besides finally figuring out where the dopey yet popular current phrase “Bye, Felicia” came from (it's from this film, and why that random line is now popular “among the youth” is beyond my comprehension; not to sound like John Witherspoon's character of Craig's father here but I don't get it), which does show that the movie still has staying power today, I had forgotten how quality the soundtrack is, from then-popular rap tunes and all that G-funk to classic R&B and funk from the likes of Zapp & Roger and Rick James. I was happy to see the movie again as it had been a long while since the last viewing.