FRIDAY

FRIDAY is the story of Craig Jones, played by Ice Cube, who has just lost his job after stealing videotapes from his place of employment. The film chronicles one long day in the life of Craig, as he hangs out with his best friend Smokey, who smokes drugs all day and persuades Craig to join him. In the course of the day, Craig: tries to bail Smokey out of a drug deal that has gone sour; tries to escape his jealous girlfriend and win the heart of another; goggles at women with Smokey; watches as Smokey participates in burglaries; and, survives confrontations with the neighborhood's bully, Deebo.

Although FRIDAY is a comedy, there is nothing very humorous about life in the `hood' as depicted in the film which includes the blatant smoking of drugs, excessive use of vulagarities and profanities and casual burglaries. The general lack of direction in the characters' lives all send out a message of the loss of goals and self-worth. The crude slant of FRIDAY's humor and its offensive language throw dark and disturbing questions on the sociological trends in some neighborhoods. The film's entertainment value is low and unappealing. Although events of the day are wrapped up at the end of the film, it leaves no messages of reassurance that life in the `hood' is going to dramatically improve.