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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than "Next Friday", inferior to original, May 24, 2003
Let's face it, the first one was the best. It came out of nowhere and became a decent hit which has grown into cult status in a very short amount of time. Chris Tucker and Ice Cube were perfectly matched and had a chemistry so palpable which made for a very enjoyable ride. Then, inexplicably Chris Tucker didn't appear in the sequel "Next Friday" (it was probably his choice not to return after the success of Rush Hour) and he was sorely missed. This second outing in the trilogy was boring beyond belief and, even though I had tried, I couldn't bring myself to like it. Then, I had pretty much given up on the whole Friday thing until a friend of mine recommended that I rent this next installement. He told me he found it very funny and, not really knowing what to expect, I gave it a try. I must say my confidence was restored in the Friday potential and, even though this third act is not as great as it could have been, I found myself enjoying it quite a lot.
True, I am like most fans of Friday who all wish "Smokey" would come back. Chris Tucker made this role so memorable that everytime we get a new one, most of us secretly hope he'll be around. Well, no luck here either even though Mike Epps is doing quite a good job and is very funny in this. John Witherspoon as the father is always hilarious to watch and I found myself captivated by the pimp character, dressed in flamboyant costumes with an attitude to match. He was probably the best new character in the film in my opinion along with the new big tug around the block involved in a delicious storyline with homoerotic overtones. My one regret about the Friday movies is the fact that Ice Cube doesn't give us the whole family anymore. What made the first one so enjoyable was the fact that they were all part of the scheme of things but now, we never get to see Craig's sister and his mother is only featured in a small thankless role. Frankly, she deserves much better. There are some very nice gags and I laughed out loud at many of them. I must say I don't really care much for the infinifilm gimmick where you see the film as different options to watch the behind the scenes stuff became available all throughout. I either want to watch the movie without interruption or watch the special features and mixing the two is not my idea of fun. But maybe that's just me. In conclusion, this third one is a good effort. It also made me hopeful that the fourth one (I am pretty sure there will be one according to what the actors said in the documentaries) will be even better, if we can finally have the chance to see every member of the family have a bigger part in the story. Good comedy worth a shot!
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