Friday Reviews

Friday is a feelgood summer classic that's endlessly
watchable. Chris Tucker is hilarious and there are so many funny characters in this film. I first saw this nearly 10 years ago and it stills holds up really well in my opinion.

It has an excellent soundtrack - some killer Curtis Mayfield tracks.

Apart from its comedic brilliance, the film is also impressive visually and aurally. The use of colour is perfect. It uses strong primary colours to convey the heat of a summer afternoon. It harkens back to Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. Much in the way that Lee's film moves towards an explosive encounter, hinted at by the expressionistic colour palette, Friday gravitates towards a confrontation with the neighbourhood bully. A clear difference between the two is that Friday is a far more light-hearted affair.

It remains one of my favourite comedies.

Finally, they got it right... First of all, I have to confess, I used to be a major pothead for maybe 8 years. At some point, I kind of lost interest and stopped all together (I mean, it was fun for what is was but it wasn't really a healthy hobby). Anyway, I kept hearing that it was a pretty good stoner flick and I wanted to watch it for many years. Eventually, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, it wasn't a pretty good stoner flick, it was pure and simply the very best movie in this genre. At the end of the day, it is literally about two guys who spend the whole day sitting on a porch, doing really nothing, except occasionally smoking some dope and watching what is going on in the neighborhood. I know, for most of you, it must sound really pointless (I guess it is after all) but for anyone familiar with the weed, it is highly recognizable. I also believe there is a high social value in this ritual, getting together with your buddy, smoking, talking about everything and nothing. Furthermore, finally, they perfectly portrayed the behavior of your average smoker. Basically, Ice Cube portrays the occasional smoker and Chris Tucker the daily user and when Ice Cube finally hit the joints, his behavior was highly recognizable and quite funny. And that was also why this movie was so successful, it was really funny. I mean, I have never cared about the 'Rush Hour' franchise but Chris Tucker was genuinely hilarious in this. To conclude, I might be a little too generous with my rating, but I felt really nostalgic while watching this flick, I really loved this flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.