Friday
Considered by many to be the Up In Smoke of the 90s, this is a movie from 1995 that doesn’t quite live up to that standard (at least Cheech and Chong WENT places) but does make the most out of its limited locations and premise. Ice Cube stars as Craig, a guy who had just lost his job yesterday supposedly because of stealing (though whether or not he actually did it is open to speculation) and basically has nothing to do until his best friend Smokey (Chris Tucker, in the role that put him on the map) drops by and figures hey, if ya got nothing to do, then let’s just hang out and smoke weed! That’s the movie in a nutshell, as except for a few interludes and a couple of flashbacks, is just the two of them sitting on the front porch and talking (and toking) while various characters come by and various events in the neighborhood play out in front of them. Cube does succeed in making his turn likable and proves he has range beyond the “angry black guy” gimmick that was cultivated in his rap career and his earlier role in Boyz N The Hood, and Tucker certainly scores points with his fast-talking act, getting some funny lines but certainly not a laugh a minute performance. Other roles include Nia Long as a hot girl in the neighborhood who drops by to hang out for a bit and Tom “Zeus” Lister in the (legendary) role of neighborhood bully Deebo, who steals and outright just takes things from people who are intimidated by his large size, but it is probably John Witherspoon who generates the most laughs as Cube’s dad, a dogcatcher who hates dogs and enjoys giving his son fatherly advice while sitting on the toilet taking a shit. Even Bernie Mac shows up briefly as the local preacher who tries to make it with the hot married woman across the street, with disastrous results. While there are some nice character moments here and there, the impression that much of this was made up as they went along and the never-changing locale can cause some restlessness in the viewer as the film wears on and, being an ex-pot smoker myself, was amazed at just how much weed Tucker was shown smoking during the movie, so much so that one wonders how he can even move enough to chase down a bratty kid on a bike or run away from a drive-by shooting attempt late in the story. The conflict seems to arise from the idea that Smokey is supposed to be selling weed for a local drug kingpin (Faizon Love) but since he smokes it all himself and has no money to show for it, that he’s in deep, deep trouble and could get killed, plus Deebo’s antics lead up to a major confrontation between himself and Cube. Overall, a very light comedy indeed…
7/10