Friday (1995)

77% of critics liked it
(22 reviews)
89% of users liked it
(235,656 ratings)

Hard-core rapper Ice Cube, after appearing in such hard-hitting films as Boyz 'N the Hood and Higher Learning, played his first comic role in this picture he co-wrote with frequent musical collaborator DJ Pooh. Craig (Ice Cube) manages to get fired on his day off (though he claims it's through no… More Hard-core rapper Ice Cube, after appearing in such hard-hitting films as Boyz 'N the Hood and Higher Learning, played his first comic role in this picture he co-wrote with frequent musical collaborator DJ Pooh. Craig (Ice Cube) manages to get fired on his day off (though he claims it's through no fault of his own) and spends the day hanging out with his buddy Smokey (Chris Tucker) and trying to avoid his father (John Witherspoon), who wants him to find another job immediately. Smokey (whose name might have something to do with his tremendous fondness for marijuana) has even more serious problems; he was given $200 worth of weed to sell by Big Worm (Faizon Love), but he ended up smoking it instead, and if he can't come up with the money by the end of the day, he'll be in a world of hurt (and will put Craig in the same place just for being his friend). And Deebo (Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr.), a gargantuan bully who roams the neighborhood on his bicycle, has it in for Craig, while Craig tries his best just to stay out of his way. As one would expect, Friday features a strong hip-hop soundtrack, featuring tracks by such artists as Dr. Dre, Cypress Hill, Mack 10, and Funkdoobiest, as well as old-school R&B selections from The Isley Brothers, Roger, and Rose Royce. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: F. Gary Gray
Written By: Ice Cube, D.J. Pooh
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 26, 1995 Wide
On DVD: Mar 2, 1999
Studio: New Line Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
Friday has energy, and sass, and the nerve to suggest that the line between tragedy and comedy may be in the bloodshot eye of the beholder.
Todd McCarthy, Variety
A crudely made, sometimes funny bit of porchfront humor from the 'hood.
Caryn James, New York Times
This is a ruder, cruder version of the hip-hop movie House Party, and it offers a fascinating glimpse at the way street life enters pop culture.
Richard Harrington, Washington Post
Cube is amusing, though he's really playing straight man to Tucker's frenetic and energized Smokey.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Dirty, offensive, infantile and may launch a few sanctimonious opinion columns. And I mean that in the nicest way.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Writer and director are both only 25 years old -- and provide another example of why it's best to beware of young men with movie cameras.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media
Ice Cube's drug- and profanity-filled 'hood cult classic.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Co-scriptwriters Ice Cube, DJ Pooh, and director F. Gary Gray find as much humor in well-observed detail as in the oddities of the film's world.
Kam Williams, Sly Fox
The original installment in the outrageous slacker trilogy starring Ice Cube.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
The original installment in the outrageous slacker trilogy starring Ice Cube.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A new generation of black talent (director Gray, actors Chris Tucker and Ice Cube) bring verve to this much welcome comedic view of street life in South Central, after mostly crime and drug pictures set there.
Derek Adams, Time Out
Director Gray tries (unsuccessfully) to create a '90s Cheech and Chong with inane lavatory humour, manic facial expressions, and plenty of close-ups of a tokin' Smokey. Passé the spliff.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
Synthesizes blaxploitation and pot-comedy genres and melds them into a colossus of unending laughs.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
It has a certain crude, rambling charm.
Joey O'Bryan, Austin Chronicle
Gray's direction is painfully flat, and curiously -- especially for a popular music video director like Gray -- lacking any interesting visual style.
Chris Hicks, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Cube's charm and Tucker's frantic antics can carry the movie only so far before the wall-to-wall profanity, constant vulgar humor and male chauvinist ogling wear out their welcome.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...much of the humor sailed right over my caucasian head.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
Turns "Boyz N'The Hood" on it's head...simply hilarious
Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com
Hilarious hip-hop ghetto comedy. Chris Tucker's role as "Smokey" sets this one apart from it's mediocre sequels.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Chris W

As far as "hood" films (the post 1970s predecessor to blaxploitation) go, this is one of the better and more entertaining ones. It's a buddy comedy all the way, yet it tries to do a little more and at least comment on larger issues affecting urban neighborhoods.… More
As far as "hood" films (the post 1970s predecessor to blaxploitation) go, this is one of the better and more entertaining ones. It's a buddy comedy all the way, yet it tries to do a little more and at least comment on larger issues affecting urban neighborhoods. It's not as preachy and serious or meaningful as Boyz N The Hood, but it's at least happier and more fun. This is really a hard film to dislike. It's hip, cool, and very funny. I used to joke that this film formed the basis of my knowledge of African American culture (or atr least a segment of it). I can't say that anymore, but still, this film has some big sentimental value for me that make it very endearing. I think I mostly like it because it's one of those slice of life movies that, despite taking place over the course of a day, really does a great job of fleshing out the world it sets up in a small amount of time. The cast is really good, featuring lots of notable names and faces. Their performances are great too. It's too bad that Chris Tucker got clean and found Jesus not long after this, because his manic, loud schtick really sings here, and he's just a great foil for the chill, common sense dude played by Ice Cube. Both are likeable, and have great chemistry together. Supporting them in memorable roles are John Witherspoon as the toguh and wise old school dad and Tommy Lister as the archetypical thug bully. This is a fun movie, and, even though it's more about entertainment, it's not a completely hollow laugh riot that is devoid of something more. Give this one a go, it's a real cult classic.
Brad W

A fun movie. Ice Cube and the rest are funny as hell. The jokes were funny, but I didn't laugh as much as I'd hoped. The plot was pointless, but aren't all stoner comedies. Overall a good movie, but comedy could've been better.
Eric A

Will never get old! A comedy classic in my eyes.
Melvin W

Smokey: "I got mind control over Deebo. He be like "shut the fuck up." I be quiet. But when he leave, I be talking again." Friday is a fantastic comedy, but by the end you see it does have a message after all. This is… More
Smokey: "I got mind control over Deebo. He be like "shut the fuck up." I be quiet. But when he leave, I be talking again." Friday is a fantastic comedy, but by the end you see it does have a message after all. This is the best African-American comedy ever made. The story is simple. Two friends spend a Friday getting high and talking on a front porch. The dialogue is hilarious and Chris Tucker gives a very funny performance as Smokey; almost nothing he says is unfunny. "No sugar? Damn. Y'all ain't never got two things that match. Either y'all got Kool-aid, no sugar. Peanut butter, no jelly. Ham, no burger. Daaamn." There's also a great cast of characters surrounding the main characters. The movie is extremely funny until the last 20 minutes; then it's still funny but it also has a lesson on violence in the ghetto. This is a great movie to watch if you liked Boyz N the Hood. Friday is going to end up being a classic comedy and will probably never be matched in the African-American comedy genre.
danny d

probably the funniest urban comedy ever made. the franchise may have completely fell apart after this film, but there are so many hilarious scenes in this film. john witherspoon is underrated and underappreciated as a comedic actor.
Rachel F

Hilarious. Smokey is one of my favorite characters ever.
EightThirty .

03/05/2010 You don't have to be a "weed head" to enjoy this flick and get a kick out of it! Its been a while since I seen this and man, its still good. Its quite a good film with funny moments, cheesy characters and a few moral values to keep it interesting. Its a… More
03/05/2010 You don't have to be a "weed head" to enjoy this flick and get a kick out of it! Its been a while since I seen this and man, its still good. Its quite a good film with funny moments, cheesy characters and a few moral values to keep it interesting. Its a Classic for me.
Conner R

Friday is a really cheesy and crude movie, but I think that was the intention all along. While you can't really fall in love with it, there's nothing too distasteful about it to make it a bad movie. It feels like a light hearted version of Boyz in the Hood, essentially… More
Friday is a really cheesy and crude movie, but I think that was the intention all along. While you can't really fall in love with it, there's nothing too distasteful about it to make it a bad movie. It feels like a light hearted version of Boyz in the Hood, essentially chronicling a day in the life of the hood. Ice Cube was appropriately cast and Deebo is an amazing element to the movie.
Tim S

This is a great film, not just a stoner comedy.
Anthony L

A modern classic and a nice change from all the serious gangster films of that time. It's also very funny!
Khris N

F Gary Gray's major debut, the movie which set the bar for all black movies and is still on top. A comedy classic with no equal when it comes to the black world. (watch out for Gray as he makes a cameo in the convenience store as a store worker) Cube and funnyman Chris Tucker… More
F Gary Gray's major debut, the movie which set the bar for all black movies and is still on top. A comedy classic with no equal when it comes to the black world. (watch out for Gray as he makes a cameo in the convenience store as a store worker) Cube and funnyman Chris Tucker team up with the likes of Bernie Mac, John Witherspoon and Tommy Lister and some serious babes to introduce you to a day in the life of Craig, dragged into some seriously hilarious and dangerous situations by his pal Smokey, going head to head with the neighbourhood bully and drug dealer, and he's got some serious stuff to do if he wants live to see Saturday and snag the hot girl down the street. A classic black comedy right down to its South Central Roots, this is Gray's rare comedy achievement before he went into hardcore thrillers like The Negotiator and The Italian Job which we all love, but this is 5 stars due to the excellent performances and the fast and witty liners coming in from all sides. A personal favourite, if you like black comedies andyou havnt seen this one or its sequels, you not knowing, you siimply not knowing what you missing.
Derek D

I normally don't really enjoy films like these, but this series is pretty damn funny. A breakthrough role for Tucker, which sucks since his acting is shit but oh well. He makes $25 million a picture and I make just above minimum wage. Figure that one out.
Robert C

Simple, yet very funny.
Lenny M

So Good.
Aaron N

Smokey: I know you don't smoke weed, I know this; but I'm gonna get you high today, 'cause it's Friday; you ain't got no job... and you ain't got shit to do. A consistently funny movie, taking place in South Central LA. It plays a lot like a satire of… More
Smokey: I know you don't smoke weed, I know this; but I'm gonna get you high today, 'cause it's Friday; you ain't got no job... and you ain't got shit to do. A consistently funny movie, taking place in South Central LA. It plays a lot like a satire of South Central culture with the way it handles the situations of the neighborhood, but it is still a very funny comedy first. Ice Cube and Chris Tucker are great together, and have plenty of quotable lines throughout the movie. Smokey: Older the berry, the sweeter the juice. Craig Jones: Man, it's the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. Smokey: Yeah, well she blacker than a motherfucker too. Craig Jones: We ain't got no sugar. Smokey: No sugar? Damn. Y'all ain't never got two things that match. Either ya got Kool-aid, no sugar. Peanut butter, no jelly. Ham, no burger. Daaamn. There is also a good layer of sweetness on the top of this movie, because it is about friendship, relationships, and how a person should handle himself in tough situations. A very funny and good movie, with a good hip hop soundtrack as well. Smokey: You just got knocked the FUCK out!
Tsubaki S

Only time Chris Tucker has been funny in a movie. The sequels do look quite crappy.
Curtis L

Okay I suppose. I think the parts with his dad are the best.
Keysha H

Puff Puff but don't pass on this awesome debut by Chris Tucker. (That was corny..sorry)
Jason S

Funny. They should have stopped here.
Bradley W

A fun movie. Ice Cube and the rest are funny as hell. The jokes were funny, but I didn't laugh as much as I'd hoped. The plot was pointless, but aren't all stoner comedies. Overall a good movie, but comedy could've been better.