FRIDAY

US, 1995, 91 minutes, Colour.
Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, John Witherspoon, Anna Maria Horseford, Regina King, Paula Jai Parker, Faizon Love, D. J. Pooh, Angela Means, Tony Cox.
Directed by F. Gary Gray.

In the 1990s, a number of African- American directors emerged, generally making action thrillers, a significant development in the history of cinema, African- stories, geared towards an African- American audience, headlining the directors as well as the performers.

Some of the directors who emerged during these years were Bill Duke, John Singleton.

Very quickly, it appeared that there was a large African- American audience for this kind of film and the trend moved into comedies. This film was one of the first, appearing in 1995, with a sequel, Next Friday, in 2000. The director of this film, his first feature film, was F. Gary Gray. He was to direct many television episodes but became a better-known director with such features as A Man Apart, the Italian Job, very successful with a film about rap music, Straight Outta Compton and then directing the box office success, The Fate of the Furious.

This was a comedy about two stoners, played by Ice Cube (who was having a successful music career at this time and is one of the key characters, 20 years later, in Straight Outta Compton) who continued his music career but became quite a powerful producer and actor in a whole range of films. He is partnered by Chris Tucker, stand-up comedian who is also emerging in films including Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element as well as the Rush Hour comedies with Jackie Chan.

This film also featured quite a number of African- American character actors, including director John Witherspoon, and several who were on the way up including Nia Long, Bernie Mac and Regina King.

Not much plot to speak of. The focus is the Jones family, mother and father, son and daughter, and a touch of life in the suburbs. The son is played by Ice Cube has been caught stealing on video and has lost his job. Tucker is Smoky, his friend, who reminisces about adventures in the past (seen in black-and-white flashback), but who needs to pay a debt by 10 PM, their sitting on the porch for hours, observing people go by, repartee, smoking dope…

There is the big man who is demanding the debt, friends who have become involved in dealing, a sexy neighbour and a hypocritical Reverend, Bernie Mac, who is interrupted by her husband when having sex with her in the house…

Plays best for the audience for which it was made, has been superseded by quite a number of films along the same lines, and maybe too local in its locations for it to travel further.