Film / Friday

"DAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMN!!!"

"And you know this, MAAAAAAAAN!!"

Friday is a 1995 stoner Black Comedy film written by and starring Ice Cube and directed by F. Gary Gray (his first film).

It tells the story of Craig Jones (Ice Cube), a UPS worker that ends up getting fired on his day off as the film opens; as a result, Craig hangs around the porch of his house for pretty much the whole day. Craig's friend Smokey (Chris Tucker) joins him as the duo observes the other oddball characters in the neighborhood. Things take a drastic turn when Smokey is revealed to owe money to a drug dealer named Big Worm (Faizon Love), who gives Smokey until nightfall to pay him for the weed he was supposed to sell (Smokey ended up smoking it instead). Craig ends up getting pulled into the mess, and the duo frantically try to think of a way to earn the money before the deadline.

A moderate success when it was released, Friday earned $28,215,918 in the international market; most of it came from the United States, where it was the 62nd most successful film of its year.

The film features a lot of well-known African-American actors who were relatively minor back when the movie was released — it promoted Chris Tucker to stardom. When Ice Cube decided to make a sequel six years later, Tucker declined to reprise his role; newfound religious beliefs made him want to shy away from playing a drug addict, which is why he wasn't present in the sequel films. (Many fans argue that the sequels suffered in quality as a result.)

Next Friday, released in 2000, picks up a few days after the first. Deebo (Tommy "Tiny" Lister), the resident bully that Craig defeated in the first movie, escapes from prison looking for vengeance. Craig's father (John Witherspoon) decides to hide Craig at his brother Elroy's (Don "D.C." Curry) house in Rancho Cucamonga, California until Deebo is back in custody. Craig meets his cousin Day-Day (Mike Epps), then Hilarity Ensues as the duo bums around the neighborhood — unaware that Deebo is tracking Craig down. General consensus of Next Friday is that it's slightly on par with the first film, though nowhere near as good.

Friday After Next, the third (and so far final) film in the franchise, was released in 2002; it is set at Christmas time rather than summer. Craig and Day-Day are living together as roommates in a ramshackle apartment, and the night before Christmas Eve, they're robbed by a burglar — dressed as Santa — who makes off with their presents as well as their rent money. The next day, Craig and Day-Day's landlady breathes down their necks about not having the rent money, threatening to send her son Damon (Terry Crews) — who just got out of prison — to beat the rent out of them if they don't pay up. The duo spend the film working as strip mall security guards, once again observing the colorful residents while getting into hijinks and attempting to find the crooked Santa that robbed them. Friday After Next is often viewed as vastly inferior to the previous two films, although it does have its moments (and its fans).

15 years after ...After Next, it was revealed by John Witherspoon that a fourth film was in the works, titled Last Friday. Though at the current, nothing more is known about it. With John and Tiny's deaths in 2019 and 2020, respectively, likely throwing a wrench into things as well.

The series received a short-lived animated adaption on MTV2 which has a DVD set.

This film is not related to the Robert A. Heinlein novel Friday or the Fountain of Memes song "Friday" by Rebecca Black (though someone has made that connection).

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The Friday franchise provides examples of:

General

• Animated Adaptation: Had a short-lived cartoon that ran on MTV2 in 2007. Considering it wasn't advertised much on a select cable channel, it's no surprise. Most people don't even know it had an animated series.
• The Alleged Car: Smokey's.
  • Inverted in the next movie with Day-Day's car, his pride and joy, which gets abused by his ex-girlfriend.
• Amusing Injuries: Pretty much every injury from Mr. Jones getting bitten on the job in the first film to bad Santa's Humiliation Conga in the third is played for laughs.
• Basement-Dweller: Craig, but the first film details that the only benefit he gets from being this is a room with a bed. His dad Willie is just a dogcatcher so there's not much in the fridge. By the third film, he moves out and get his own place with Day-Day as his roommate.
• Big Bad: Deebo in the first movie (though Big Worm provides some threats as well), Joker in the second, and a Santa imposter in the third.
• Big Bad Ensemble:
  • Deebo and Big Worm in the first movie.
  • The Joker brothers and Deebo (and his brother, Tyrone) in Next Friday.
  • Santa Claus and Mrs. Pearly in Friday After Next.
• Big Eater: The Jones family are shown to be this. In the first film, Craig decides to eat an entire box of cereal for breakfast much to his dad's dismay who complains about the other big meals he was gonna eat for himself before Craig ate them first. His mother Betty is shown to be one as well when she cooks some eggs, bacon, sausages and leftover pork chops for breakfast for herself.
  • It's also implied that Lil' Chris is one.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall:
  • Smokey at the end of the first movie.
  • Craig delivers a blink and you'll miss it instance after Day Day walks in on him and Donna in the third movie.
  • Craig also gives quite a few aside glances to the audience in the first movie.
• Bullying a Dragon: Smokey carelessly angers Big Worm by smoking up all his marijuana, refusing to pay him the money to compensate him for said loss of marijuana (least till the end of the movie when Big Worm makes good on a drive by threat that Craig and he barely avoid, using some money he managed to still off Deebo) and lastly uses profanity at him on the phone.
  • Craig openly flirts with Carla, the Jokers' sister, in the second film, despite Day-Day warning him that they're a trio of drug-running, gun-toting Latin King expies who don't take kindly to interracial relationships and later, breaks into their house to steal their drug money.
• Butt-Monkey: Craig. This gets shared with Smokey in the first film, and Day-Day in the sequels.
• Bumbling Dad: Willie Jones (Craig's dad) is this most of the series and Flanderization cause him to be more of this in the third film. He subverts this role in the first film giving his son great advice and support when needed.
• Catchphrase:
  • "YOU GOT KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT!" is said at the end of every film whenever the antagonist is beaten.
  • "Damn!" is practically the first movie's favorite word.
• Chekhov's Gun: Craig wields a literal version of this for protection in the seedy neighborhood he lives in. Ultimately, when faced with the choice of using it, he doesn't, because he's "a man without it."
• Chick Magnet: Craig has a different love interest in every movie. Even Suga, his uncle's then girlfriend was on him in the second film.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Smokey does not appear in the two sequels, in which Day-Day takes his place ^note As stated above, Chris Tucker refused to return due to newfound beliefs as a born-again Christian.. Nevertheless, he’s still around in the spirit as his catchphrases are spoken by other characters. Roach, who was introduced as a third protagonist, only appears in the second movie due to his actor’s untimely death. Unlike Smokey, whose absence is explained, Roach is never mentioned again.
• Clint Squint: Willie Jones, Craig's father, sports one when he's not lecturing someone.
• Denser and Wackier: Next Friday and Friday After Next are both considerably more lighthearted and much goofier in its humor compared to the relatively down to earth original film. Pops in particular underwent some severe Flanderization in the two sequels.
• The Dreaded:
  • Deebo, the local bully of the neighborhood in the first movie. Despite never wielding firearms (least not in the first movie), he known to be monstrously strong that no one is willing to get on his bad side. And his pedaling on his (stolen) bicycle is played up like he's an urban Jaws. Craig and Smokey even making a note to hide their jewelry if they see him coming.
  • Damon fills this role in Friday After Next albeit in a minor capacity since he's the son of Craig and Day-Day landlord and giving them extra incentive to get the money to pay her.
• Girl of the Week: Craig has a new love interest each movie, with not a word spoken about the previous one.
• Hood Film: All three to some extent:
  • Friday is a Hood Film mixed with a Stoner Flick. It's about two men, Craig and Smokey, who need to pay a drug-dealer before the end of the day. Smokey was supposed to be selling weed, but he ended up smoking it all. His friend Craig gets dragged into his mess.
  • Next... is set a more posh neighborhood but no less urban, even including a Hispanic gang this time as well.
  • ...After Next is essentially a Hood Film during Christmas time.
• Ironic Echo: Willie Jones, after taking a dump, warns against anyone using the bathroom for "35, 45 minutes." In the next movie, a desperate Willie is trying to use the bathroom at a restroom in a rest stop, where he encounters his neighbor... who warns him against using the bathroom for "35, 45 minutes."
• Jerkass: Every character in every film in the series aside from Craig, Smokey, Day-Day, and Willie, but Deebo takes the title for actually demanding money from Red, even though he has plenty of his own. Later, calling Deebo that would be an understatement.
• Made of Iron:
  • Damn, the beating Deebo and Craig take at the end of the first film...
  • Craig falls out of Karla's second-floor window and only gets a bit winded.
  • Damon, of course. There's no way he would be running at the end after taken a pair of pliers to the testicles.
  • The bad Santa in Friday After Next... let's go over this step-by-step. First he's being beaten down with a Christmas tree; next he tries to escape and jumps headlong into a closed window; third, he literally clotheslines himself while running through somebody's backyard; fourth, he gets his ass kicked by a bunch of Crips, ending with him being thrown out of a second story window; and finally, he picks himself up off the pavement and thinking the worst is over, starts doing the Deion Sanders dance, only to be hit by a speeding stretch limo and roll over the roof several times before hitting the asphalt once more. And surprisingly enough, this still doesn't kill him. But at least knocks him out for Craig and Day-Day to finally catch up and get their revenge.
• Improvised Weapon:
  • When fighting, Craig will often use whatever he can find as one of them - garbage cans, bricks, Christmas Trees...
  • In Friday After Next, when Damon tries to rape Money Mike, Mike uses a pair of pliers attached to a leaky pipe on the toilet on his nuts.
• Large Ham: Smokey is the largest of all, with Craig’s dad Willie as a close second but there’s quite a few others over the course of the films. Day-Day, Ezal, Joker, Pinky, and Tyrone (Deebo’s cowardly brother).
• Mean Boss: Pinky in both appearances in the second and third movies. Firing Day-Day due to him bringing Craig into his store and getting into a fight with him (He thought Craig was a burglar) and chastising his limo driver when he hits the Santa Thief.
• Meaningful Name: Hey, guess what Smokey likes to do. And guess what color Pinky likes to wear.
• Mood Whiplash: The climaxes usually change the light-hearted tone to serious.
  • The first film was largely comical up until Craig and Smokey got shot at by Big Worm's hitmen. Then of course the confrontation with Deebo afterward.
  • Day-Day and Roach trying to convince Joker not to hurt then to no avail and played pretty scary.
  • Damon's attempted raped of Money Mike is a subversion, because although that would usually be something that would make the movie darker, the whole ordeal is completely played for laughs.
• Non-Action Guy:
  • Red spends the first movie cringing at the mere thought of Deebo. Then he gets in a free hit after Craig knocks Deebo senseless and re-claiming the bike that Deebo stole from him.
  • Despite his bravado, Smokey prefers to talk his way out of confrontation and shrinks when faced with physical confrontation from the neighborhood bully, Deebo.
  • Day-Day plays this role in the second and third films. Every time there's any kind of physical confrontation and Day-Day is around, he either refuses to fight or gets his ass kicked, while Craig handles himself at least moderately well.
• Noodle Incident:
  • When Craig shows Willie the gun he is planning to protect himself with, Willie mentions that Elroy learned about picking up a gun "the hard way" when he was 22 years old. However, since Elroy doesn’t make his onscreen debut until the second movie - he isn’t mentioned by name.
  • The time Deebo tried to choke Craig in Smokey’s backyard. The reason why is never revealed.
  • In Friday After Next Craig and Day-Day are never told what happened to the last security guards.
• Only Sane Man: Craig. He essentially the only one in all films to have any amount of common sense and has to put up with the craziness of his family and friends.
• Prison Rape:
  • Implied towards Baby Joker in the second movie. Him and his brothers also threatened Day-Day and Roach with this the moment they got captured.
  • Damon is said to have done this to other men during his incarceration because, as his mother puts it, "When you spend 12 years on a level 4 prison yard, you become fond of little girls like yourselves! (Craig and Day Day)"
• Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: Joi from the first movie. D'Wana from the second.
• Psychopathic Manchild:
  • Deebo in the first film. He behaved pretty much like an overgrown trouble-making punk, wore clothes that were somewhat childish in fashion, and never was shown driving a car but was always seen riding a bike.
  • The Joker brothers and Damon count as well. Seems to be the defining standard for Friday antagonists.
  • Sister Sarah's grandsons in the third film. One of them even swats some papers out of a random old man's hands for simply looking at him.
• Put on a Bus: A good majority of characters from the first film (though justified as each movie takes place in a different neighborhood), but most notably Smokey, who Craig hand-waves in the second movie as "Gone to rehab."
• Running Gag: In every movie, a Jones gets fired from their job. In the first movie, Craig is fired on his day off because his employers thought they saw him stealing boxes. In Next Friday, Day-Day is fired because Pinky thought Craig was trying to rob his store. In Friday After Next, both Craig and Day-Day are fired - on their first day - when Moly is beaten up by the grandsons of a caroler that Day-Day harassed earlier in the film.
  • A deleted scene in Friday After Next shows that at some point between NF and FAN, Craig and Day-Day had jobs as nursing/assisted living caregivers. No points for guessing how that turned out.
  • Other gags include Willie stinking up someone's restroom and someone getting "knocked the f*** out" and being informed that this happened to them.
• Scary Black Man: Deebo and Damon. Big Worm and Pinky (when he first appears in the second film) also come off as people you don't want to mess with. Sister Sarah's grandsons are this as well and Baby D is a scary black woman.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: Smokey, Pinky, Money Mike, and Moly.
• The Stoner:
  • Smokey, naturally.
  • When the cops find a marijuana plant in Craig and Day-Day's apartment, in the third movie, the guys claim its medicinal. The cops don't believe and subsequently take the weed plant, pretty much making them stoner cops. Not sure if Craig or Day-Day qualify as The Stoner, although having your own plant is almost enough call them that. But since the movies take place over the course of a day per movie, who knows whether or not they act like stoners the rest of the time the movie doesn't feature. However, Craig definitely isn't one during the first movie.
• Stoners Are Funny: Smokey, full stop; Day-Day, Uncle Elroy, Felicia, and Roach. Ezal, the neighborhood crackhead from the first film, steals almost every scene he's in.
• Straight Man: Craig almost always finds himself in this role.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • While Smokey claims to the audience that he wasn't really considering rehab despite telling Big Worm he's going off to it. Craig in the second film states that he ultimately did when he finally noted he had a drug problem.
  • Naturally dealing with a drug runner is not something you take lightly as Smokey ends up doing. This resulted in Big Worm acting on a threat via pull a drive-by hit on Craig and Smokey. Smokey manages to get it called off by using the money he lifted off Deebo to pay Big Worm his earnings then swearing off doing business with him again.
  • While Money Mike manages to fend off Damon with the pliers. Damon notes that he has to let go sooner or later which Mike meekly does concede. Most he can do is lead Damon outside so he can at least get a running head start.
  • During the climax of the third movie, Craig and Day-Day chase the Santa thief into a residence... who promptly beat up all of them with pool cues and canes since they are trespassing. It's only broken up when the crazed shotgun-wielding neighbor makes his way in, forcing everyone to run for it.
• Theme Tune Rap: "Friday" performed by Ice Cube himself in the first movie. "You Can Do It" for the second movie, again preformed by Ice Cube with Ms Toi and Mack 10.
• Toilet Humor: Every movie has a variant of this:
  • Willie Jones chastises Craig for getting fired on his day off as he takes a dump.
  • Smokey, getting desperate, gets locked out of his Momma's house and squats behind the bushes of his front yard to take a dump... just as Ezal comes over to wash his car.
  • In Next Friday, when Willie Jones is driving over to Elroy's house after Tyrone convinced him that Craig was in trouble, the extra hot sauce he put on his burrito gave him digestion problems... in the middle of heavy traffic. He just barely makes it.
  • Money Mike gets knocked out by Damon after taking a leak.
• Token Minority: The Asian store clerk in the first movie, the Korean neighbor in the second movie, and the Indian guy that Willie calls "Sabu" at a truck stop.
• Uncle Tom Foolery: Smokey plays this role straight and after the second film Day-Day turns into this trope.
• Would Hit a Girl:
  • Deebo in the first film twice (though the first is off-screen), which prompts the climax between him and Craig.
    • The first time is when he thought she stole from him. The second is to the girl's sister who tried to call him out.
  • Averted by Day-Day in Next Friday by his fear of Baby D, and played with in Friday After Next, in which he gets his ass handed to him by a female shoplifter.
  • Comedic version with Mr. Jones in the advert for Bros. BBQ in Friday After Next:
  Uncle Elroy: Barbecue taste so good, make you wanna SLAP YO MOMMA! Don't it, Willie?!
  Mr. Jones: Yeah, boy! Hey, momma!
  Grandma Jones: What the hell do you want, Willi— [gets slapped]

Friday

• Accidental Misnaming
  Smokey: What's up Big Perm—I mean, Big Worm?
• An Aesop: Craig's father gives one when he finds Craig with a gun in the first movie.
  Mr. Jones: (shows Craig his fist) You win some, you lose some. But you live...you live to fight another day!
• Bad Humor Truck: Big Worm disguises an ice cream truck to make his payment rounds.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Lil' Chris, who keeps knocking over the trash cans of the neighborhood (he seems to especially prefer going after Craig and Smokey's cans).
• Captain Obvious: Smokey. See Catchphrase above.
• Chekhov's Gun: The $200 Deebo steals from Stanley's house.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Craig's then-girlfriend, Joi from the first movie.
• Daydream Surprise: Craig apparently shoots Deebo in the climax, but after we hear his father's speech about being a man, it's revealed that he was only thinking it over while holding Deebo at gunpoint.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Big Worm sicks a van of gunmen on Smokey and Craig for being $100 short on a bud deal.
• Doesn't Like Guns: As stated in the Aesop. Mr. Jones prefers fists opposed to firepower since they, at the least have the capacity to persevere life. And yes, while that's not necessarily true since punches can kill, but given Deebo is the adversary, punching is justified here.
• Drugs Are Bad: While it's played as comedy, the first movie does show what the effects of taking drugs can do to you.
• The Easy Way or the Hard Way: Deebo drops an ultimatum after telling Craig to keep a lookout when Deebo robs Stanley's house.
  Deebo: You don't get involved, I'll knock yo' ass out too. Make a choice.
• Eating the Eye Candy: Smokey and Craig do this when watching Mrs. Parker, the neighborhood Mrs. Fanservice.
• Epic Fail: The fact that Craig got fired on his day off is treated as one. (The way he recounts it, however, implies that he may have been fired simply because he was a scapegoat for someone else's actions.)
• Everyone Has Standards: Craig and Smokey laugh together when Smokey recounts the story of Deebo knocking Red out with one punch, but they're both disgusted when Deebo steals Red's gold chain (that his grandmother had given him).
• Firearms Are Cowardly: Mr. Jones believes this trope, disgusted by the youthful gangsters who try to solve their conflicts by killing each other out of wounded pride instead of engaging in an honest fist fight and accept a loss or victory with dignity.
• Follow in My Footsteps: Willie Jones tries to convince his son Craig to be a dog catcher like him when discovering that Craig got fired. Although his 'try' was more of a suggestion.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Very few viewers have noticed that Joi had another guy sleeping beside her in her bed when talking to Craig over the phone. This is as she is reaming him for being spotted at the movies with another girl. He didn't, but Joi isn't hearing it as she is being a hypocrite.
• Gangland Drive-By: Big Worm ends up sending some hit-men after Craig and Smokey when the latter fails to meet his deal. They attempt to kill the two via drive-by though the two were wise enough to note it and had a scare earlier that evening when they saw a car creeping down the street towards them (it was a neighbor that time).
• George Jetson Job Security: Although there is a reason that Craig got fired, the fact that he wasn’t even the person who did it makes that point moot. Smokey points out how “...you got to be a stupid motherfucker to get fired on your day off.”, invoking the spirit of this trope.
• Getting High on Their Own Supply: Smokey literally burns through his inventory.
  Craig: How are you gonna sell bud when you smoke it?
  Smokey: I dunno...that's my only problem!
• Gonk: Rita, who most certainly does not look like Janet Jackson, despite her claims to the contrary.
  Debbie: Rita is not fat. She's just big-boned.
  Smokey: Shiiiiit! That girl wide on all sides! Talkin' 'bout she look like Janet Jackson!
  Debbie: Ooooh, no, she didn't go there... [nervous laughter]
  Smokey: Yeah. Bitch got out the car lookin' more like Freddie Jackson.
  Debbie: [laughs uncontrollably]
  Smokey: Don't laugh, it ain't funny!
• Honor Among Thieves: Ezal, the neighborhood crackhead, will steal the shoes off of your feet, but, as he tells a knocked out Deebo while returning a knife Deebo gave him, he'll "steal but won't kill".
• Hot for Preacher: Inverted with Pastor Clever, who goes running off to have an affair with Craig's neighbor, Mrs. Parker.
• Hypocritical Humor:
  • In first film, Joi calls up Craig and accuses him of cheating on her. On her bed, you can clearly see a (shirtless) guy who's not Craig sleeping next to her.
  • Craig's mom, seeing Mrs. Parker flaunting her body, says she should be ashamed of herself. Then she calls out to her and makes faux-friendly conversation.
  • Big Worm calling the Chili Fritos kid "Fat boy".
  • Red is called out after he claims that he would have helped them if Deebo had robbed them:
  Red: Hey, man, why didn't y'all help me?
  Smokey: Man, I'm high.
  Red: Man, that's fucked up. If it was y'all, I would've helped y'all.
  Craig: What about the time he tried to choke me in Smoke's backyard?
  Red: Oh. (Beat) That was different.
  • Smokey complains about his mom being lazy and doing nothing to help with the house. He adds later that she could at least "clean up once in a while". Meanwhile, his own living quarters aren't much better, as you can see piles of clothes all over the floor.
• I Lied:
  • Craig's mom told his dad he got fired on his day off, even though she promised she wouldn't tell. He doesn't even call her out on it.
  • Ezal catches Smokey taking a crap in his front yard and promises not to tell anyone. He doesn't keep that promise very long.
• Incoming Ham: Smokey first appears by sticking his head in Craig's window, ripping off the curtain and shouting "Break yo self, fool!"
• Irony: Despite being the most famous film in a series famous for only taking place on one day (Friday) in each movie, the first film's final moments actually run off into Saturday, with Craig's breaking up with Joi and Smokey settling his debt with Big Worm both happening after the clock strikes midnight.
• I Want My Mommy!: Lil' Chris after receiving at least nine belt whips to the ass from Craig and Smokey.
• Male Gaze: Debbie and Mrs. Parker's introduction scenes run completely on this.
• Manly Tears: In the first movie, Craig has tears in his eyes as he sets aside the gun, because not killing the man who insulted his father is the hardest thing he's ever had to do.
• Marijuana Is LSD: Subverted with Smokey's flashback as that weed was laced with angel dust (PCP). Played straight with Craig though- he experiences auditory hallucinations ("You hear my phone ring?" and when the dog figurines begin to whine) and full-blown auditory and visual hallucinations when he sees Big Worm's head in his cabinet and it begins talking to him.
• Mob Debt: Drug dealer Smokey and his friend Craig Jones smoke some marijuana that Smokey was supposed to sell for his boss Big Worm. Big Worm threatens to have Smokey and Jones killed unless they pay him the $200 the marijuana was worth.
• Ms. Fanservice: Mrs. Parker, one of Craig's neighbors, a married woman who wears a low-cut shirt and short shorts when watering plants.
• Mushroom Samba: Smokey accidentally consumes a large amount of angel dust. He runs down the street in his underwear and ends up spending the night in Deebo's chicken coop. It also makes him twitch involuntarily.
• Never My Fault: Craig when he gets caught up in Smokey's situation. Smokey retorts he never forced Craig to smoke Big Worm's bud though did pester him to do so.
  • Smokey telling Worm that Craig smoked the joint was a well earned What the Hell, Hero? moment on his part however. Something that Craig called him out on.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The beating that Felicia takes is because Smokey tried to rob Deebo.
• No Indoor Voice: Smokey.
• No-Sell:
  • When Smokey tries to talk his way out of paying the money that he owes Big Worm:
  Smokey: You know what happen? You gon' laugh yo ass off. You know Craig? Craig got fired yesterday!
  Big Worm: What the fuck that gotta do with me?
  Smokey: Let me explain! We's talkin' over all our problems, right, and you know how we do it. We started getting hiiiigh... nigga, we got fucked up!
  Big Worm: Look, nigga, I'ma be here at ten o' clock on the dot. Not 10:03, not 10:36! If you ain't got my money or my bud, I'm killin' you and him! (points to Craig)
  • When Craig draws a gun on Deebo, the latter doesn't even flinch:
  Deebo: Whatchu gonna do with that, besides make me mad?
• Not So Above It All: Pastor Clever. He arrives in the neighborhood and notices Smokey and Craig smoking a blunt, and chastises them for their sinful ways before asking if he can have some weed "for [his] cataracts". Then he becomes distracted by Mrs. Parker (the neighborhood Fanservice) and proceeds to have a brief affair with her.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: Everyone gives Craig shit for getting fired on his day off.
• Punched Across the Room: Deebo punches Red so hard he's knocked clean off his feet and sent flying through the air.
• Really Gets Around: Felicia, to Smokey's disgust.
• A Real Man Is a Killer: Defied when Craig refuses to shoot Deebo, the neighborhood bully, in favor of Good Old Fisticuffs.
• Russian Reversal: A non-Russian example.
  Willie Jones: The first of the month, the rent is due. If you ain't got nothin' on the table, you ain't got to worry about catchin' a dog. You gotta worry about a dog catching your ass!
• Tempting Fate: Smokey does this as Craig and he are headed for his house during the evening. He promptly calls out that no one gonna mess with him... then shit happens.
  Smokey: Ain't nobody gonna mess with the Smoke Dog! [woofs, then spots a van down the street] Hey, who's that?
  [the van cuts its headlights off and speeds down the street towards them, with men opening firing with uzis from it]
  Craig & Smokey: OH SHIT!
• This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: When Craig and Deebo fight at the end of the first movie, Craig's father repeatedly tells everyone to give him room and 'let him be a man''.
• The Whitest Black Guy: Stanley, Willie Jones' businessman neighbor.
• With Catlike Tread: When Ezal catches Smokey taking a crap outside.
  Smokey: Ezal!
  Ezal: What?
  Smokey: You bet not tell nobody, man!
  Ezal: I'm not, man.
  Smokey: Keep it on the down low!
  Ezal: All right. I'm not like that. I'll keep it down, bruh! [looks around] HEY! SMOKEY BACK HERE TAKING A SHIT!
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Ezal, the neighborhood crackhead, attempts to convince the convenience store employees that he was going to sue them because he had tripped and fallen on his back. This, of course, fails miserably.
• Your Mom: When Smokey asks where Craig got a gun, Craig says "yo mama".

Next Friday

• Abhorrent Admirer: Suga, to Craig. It's not that she's unattractive, just that she's his uncle's girlfriend. Played completely straight with Baby D, who tries to get Day Day to hook her and Craig up.
• All for Nothing: Deebo's quest in this film. It ultimately proves fruitless as he doesn't even get a minute confronting Craig before he's swiftly incapacitated via Chico, then promptly arrested and hailed back to prison.
• Angry Guard Dog: Chico, Joker's initial guard dog. Roach however makes friends with him and takes him in. Though by the third film, he's adopted by Day-Day.
• Apathetic Citizens: Apparently, no one notices two guys in bright orange prison jumpsuits walking around in broad daylight.
• Ax-Crazy: Joker. While silly, he didn't have any qualms with tying up Day-Day and Roach and set to torture them for the whereabouts of his money.
• Brick Joke: A literal one. The final joke of the movie is Baby D throwing a brick at the back window of Day-Day's BMW, as she did to the car's front window earlier.
• Chained Heat: Deebo and Tyrone due to the former having escaped prison while still chained to the latter, forcing Deebo to drag Tyrone on his hunt for Craig.
• Creepy Uncle: Gender-swapped version. Craig's uncle Elroy has a girlfriend named Suga who's also got the hots for Craig (even though he's her boyfriend's nephew). Craig is appropriately creeped out by her advances.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Roach feeds marijuana brownies to Chico, Joker's vicious dog, to get him to stop barking. The dog gets stoned in the process and zones out. Later on, Chico rescues Roach from Deebo and lets Roach hold him as the police storm Joker's house.
• Destructo-Nookie: Elroy and Suga have sex so rough, that a piece of the living room ceiling comes crumbling down much to Craig's amusement.
• Goofy Print Underwear: Joker's tuxedo-patterned thong.
• Heel–Face Turn: Joker's dog, Chico, befriends Roach, saves Craig, Willie, and Elroy from Deebo and becomes Craig and Day-Day's pet in Friday After Next (though no explanation how they got him).
• Irony: In a meta way, Karla. Despite being the most well-written of Craig's love interests, she plays a less important role in the plot than Debbie from the first film, whose main personality trait shown is being Craig's love interest.
• Minor Injury Overreaction: Discussed. Willie believes this to be the case when Uncle Elroy throws out his back after tackling one of Joker's goons in the finale.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: After Deebo fails to catch up to Craig, Tyrone, at Deebo's instruction, convinces Willie Jones that his son Craig is in trouble. At the time, Craig wasn't in trouble, but Willie doesn't know this and rushes off to help him, unknowingly bringing Deebo and Tyrone with him. But later, Day-Day and Roach get kidnapped by Joker and his goons. Willie arrives at Elroy's house to find that Craig is fine, but Craig arrives soon after and explains the situation and enlists Willie and Elroy's help to rescue them. Elroy and Willie take down Joker's goons, and Deebo knocks out Joker, who was threatening them with a machine gun, buying them enough time for the police to arrive and arrest all of them. Had Deebo not sent Willie on a wild goose chase, Day-Day and Roach would have been wounded or dead, and Karla would still be miserable.
• Revenge: Deebo's primary motivation in this film, to avenge the loss Craig dealt to him in the first film. He doesn't get far, just when he has Craig at his mercy via a sneak attack, Chico attacks him and keeps him occupied long enough for the police to put him back into custody.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Tyrone, Deebo's brother, is one for Ezal.
• Tap on the Head: Deebo manages to pull this off on Joker in the climax of Next Friday.
• That Poor Car: Day-Day's car is abused throughout the second movie, with his Psycho Ex-Girlfriend keying it and busting windows, and Day-Day and Craig taking refuge atop it from Chico, denting the roof in the process.
• Token White: Roach, in Next Friday
• Two Lines, No Waiting:
  • Next Friday follows Deebo and Tyrone as they break out of prison to exact Deebo's revenge on Craig as its B-Plot, and Craig living in the suburbs with his cousin as its A-Plot.
• Villainous Rescue: Deebo delivers a Tap on the Head to Joker just in time to keep him from wasting Craig and company. He then promptly picks up Joker's assault rifle with the intention of doing the job himself.
• White Gangbangers: The Joker Brothers. Well, they're Hispanic, so it's subverted a little.

Friday After Next

• Aborted Arc: Early in the film, Ms. Pearly reveals her plans to have Damon sexually assault (or at the very least, beat up) Craig and Day-Day if they fail to pay their rent before the day is over. While Damon does threaten the duo when he first encounters them, he later attends their Christmas party without malice. Until Money Mike gets there...
• Angry Guard Dog: Chico from the previous movie returns as Craig and Day-Day's pet and while he's mellowed out compared to Next Friday, that doesn't stop him from taking a bite out of Ms. Pearly's backside when he catches her rifling through the duo's apartment.
• Animated Credits Opening: This film surprisingly opens with one, showing the Santa Thug skulking around and grabbing anything he can, including the credits.
• Asshole Victim:
  • Moly. Considering the fact that he laughs when Craig and Day-Day get jacked by Santa Claus, it's hard to feel sad for him when he gets jumped by Sister Sarah's grandsons and then fires Craig and Day-Day for not protecting him (even though they were on their lunch break).
  • The Bad Santa himself, obviously.
• Bad Santa: One of the antagonists in this film and essentially the Climax Boss as Craig and Day-Day are on the lookout for him after he robbed them. They eventually chase him down, beat him up, and tie him up for the cops after reclaiming the objects he stole.
• Christmas Episode: Unlike the previous two films which are set around summer, this one takes place during the holiday season.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Roach, introduced in Next Friday as one of the leads, does not appear in this film nor is there any mention of him. This is justified by the death of the actor who played him.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: After the Santa Thug gets away with stealing lots of Craig and Day-Day's material possessions including an audio speaker in which they hid half their rent money in, Craig points out they still could have paid off the rent regardless if Day-Day didn't waste the other half on the Christmas party.
• Depraved Homosexual: Damon, a dominant ex-convict who threatens to rape Craig and Day-Day if they don't pay rent. He even tries to rape Money Mike, with painful results.
• Determinator: The trigger-happy senior. He’s so consumed with catching and shooting Craig and Day-Day for passing through his yard, falsely accusing them of trying to steal from his beloved garden of greens, that he literally stalks them into another home.
• Donut Mess with a Cop: The Santa Thug just robbed Day-Day, Craig and Uncle Elroy at gunpoint of their cash and gold watch. As Santa runs off with his new treasure, Day-Day runs to the donut store to get the police's help. Given it's hard to believe that Santa would rob you, the two cops just laugh this off and continue to indulge on their glazed donuts and coffee. See also Police Are Useless below.
• Double Standard: Rape, Male on Male:
  • Ms. Purdy, Craig and Day Day's landlord, threatens them with this at the hands of her newly-released ex-felon son, Damon, unless she receives their overdue rent money before the end of the day. She also forces herself on Craig's father.
  • Damon attempts to do this to Money Mike near the film's end. It doesn't go as planned.
• Groin Attack: Money Mike manages to temporarily stop a potential rape by Damon by clamping and twisting his groin with pliers.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Donna, having been talked down to and berated by Money Mike throughout the entire film, drives off and leaves him when he's being chased down by Damon.
• Pec Flex: Damon does this in when he shows up to intimidate Craig and Day-Day.
• Police Are Useless: The cops in the film are very incompetent; it's the holidays, so they don't really feel like working and just laze around the whole movie. They're unsympathetic to Craig and Day-Day having been robbed. Oh, and then the cops find Day-Day's stash of weed in his room.
  • The only time they are useful is when they arrest a pair of shoplifters who tried to rob Money Mike and were caught by Craig and Day-Day.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Damon is one to Deebo. Only difference is he's (mostly) acting on behalf of his mother.

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