Half the time when I don't expect much from a movie, I become oddly surprised as it turns out to be much better than I assumed. But the other half of the time, I'm exactly right and the movie turns out to be just as bad as I assumed. This is a case of the latter. I was looking to be oddly surprised, but unfortunately this clunker is just as lame as it appears in the trailers.
Prior to watching the film, I wasn't aware that Ice Cube co-wrote the script. After I saw his writing credit, I knew this definitely wasn't going to be topnotch material. Sure, I liked the first two "Friday" movies, but they're simply guilty pleasures. Cube may write some good rap songs, but he could probably never write a quality script. Also, this is an action movie. An action/comedy, yes, but comedy is what Cube specializes in. I'm not going to say it's his forte, because that would put him on parallel with Mel Brooks. Rappers can barely write comedies; they sure as hell can't write action movies!
I hope and pray to God that Mike Epps doesn't become the next overnight comedy sensation. After the film came out, I heard people raving about him left and right. One thing's for sure: he's no, and I repeat NO, Eddie Murphy. I tolerated him in "Next Friday" and "Bait," and even got a few laughs from him, but now he's really getting at my nerves! He's filled with comic energy, but he doesn't know where the hell to focus it. You watch Eddie Murphy's invasion of the redneck bar in "48 Hours" and you compare it to any of the low-brow antics Epps pulls off in this movie, and THEN look into my eyes and tell me he's the next Eddie Murphy! I'll go as far as saying he's the black equivalent of Pauly Shore! I wonder if he's related to Omar. If he is, the talent gene sure as hell didn't get passed on to him. Every one of his lame one-liners mirrors any lines you hear from every other black comic that appears on "Comicview" or "Def Comedy Jam." Nothing but stale white stereotypes and cheap sex jokes. I don't detect a lick of intelligence in his humor. And I'm not saying this because he has such a foul mouth. Murphy's mouth is ten times filthier than his, but his humor is often at least somewhat intelligent (if you watch the films of his hayday like "Coming to America" and "48 Hours," and not some of his lame recent work like "I Spy" and "Showtime").
I can't blame Ice Cube much in the acting department. He's not a bad actor, though certainly not a great one. However, I do have the right to blame him for the material since he co-wrote the script. There's even a gag in which two old ladies swear and try to speak ebonics. That gag is about as moldy as a loaf of bread 3 years past its expiration date. Old white people acting black: not funny anymore! Get with the freaking program! And since there's not much of a casting call for senior citizens, these old-timers will probably accept any role that flies their way. If that's not taking advantage of the elderly, then I don't know what is.
One of the film's minor saving graces are the appearances by beautiful Hispanic actress Eva Mendez. I remember her back from "Children of the Corn Part 5" which, needless to say, went direct to video. She seems to be appearing in more mainstream work (i.e.: "Training Day" and "Exit Wounds"). Hopefully, she'll receive much better scripts than these in the near-future.
I don't mean to stereotype, but if there's truth to it, then what the heck am I supposed to do? Shy away from it for the sake of political correctness? This movie recycles the same material from almost every predominantly African-American comedy in recent years. And I'm not insulting Afro-Americans; movies like these are insulting them! These movies are making us think that only low-brow comedies like this can make black people laugh. That they can only laugh at jokes involving sex, toilet humor, misogyny or crude racial/ethnic stereotypes. I'm pretty sure there are blacks out there with a more refined sense of humor, but not too many black movies cater to their kind.
My score: 3 (out of 10)
Prior to watching the film, I wasn't aware that Ice Cube co-wrote the script. After I saw his writing credit, I knew this definitely wasn't going to be topnotch material. Sure, I liked the first two "Friday" movies, but they're simply guilty pleasures. Cube may write some good rap songs, but he could probably never write a quality script. Also, this is an action movie. An action/comedy, yes, but comedy is what Cube specializes in. I'm not going to say it's his forte, because that would put him on parallel with Mel Brooks. Rappers can barely write comedies; they sure as hell can't write action movies!
I hope and pray to God that Mike Epps doesn't become the next overnight comedy sensation. After the film came out, I heard people raving about him left and right. One thing's for sure: he's no, and I repeat NO, Eddie Murphy. I tolerated him in "Next Friday" and "Bait," and even got a few laughs from him, but now he's really getting at my nerves! He's filled with comic energy, but he doesn't know where the hell to focus it. You watch Eddie Murphy's invasion of the redneck bar in "48 Hours" and you compare it to any of the low-brow antics Epps pulls off in this movie, and THEN look into my eyes and tell me he's the next Eddie Murphy! I'll go as far as saying he's the black equivalent of Pauly Shore! I wonder if he's related to Omar. If he is, the talent gene sure as hell didn't get passed on to him. Every one of his lame one-liners mirrors any lines you hear from every other black comic that appears on "Comicview" or "Def Comedy Jam." Nothing but stale white stereotypes and cheap sex jokes. I don't detect a lick of intelligence in his humor. And I'm not saying this because he has such a foul mouth. Murphy's mouth is ten times filthier than his, but his humor is often at least somewhat intelligent (if you watch the films of his hayday like "Coming to America" and "48 Hours," and not some of his lame recent work like "I Spy" and "Showtime").
I can't blame Ice Cube much in the acting department. He's not a bad actor, though certainly not a great one. However, I do have the right to blame him for the material since he co-wrote the script. There's even a gag in which two old ladies swear and try to speak ebonics. That gag is about as moldy as a loaf of bread 3 years past its expiration date. Old white people acting black: not funny anymore! Get with the freaking program! And since there's not much of a casting call for senior citizens, these old-timers will probably accept any role that flies their way. If that's not taking advantage of the elderly, then I don't know what is.
One of the film's minor saving graces are the appearances by beautiful Hispanic actress Eva Mendez. I remember her back from "Children of the Corn Part 5" which, needless to say, went direct to video. She seems to be appearing in more mainstream work (i.e.: "Training Day" and "Exit Wounds"). Hopefully, she'll receive much better scripts than these in the near-future.
I don't mean to stereotype, but if there's truth to it, then what the heck am I supposed to do? Shy away from it for the sake of political correctness? This movie recycles the same material from almost every predominantly African-American comedy in recent years. And I'm not insulting Afro-Americans; movies like these are insulting them! These movies are making us think that only low-brow comedies like this can make black people laugh. That they can only laugh at jokes involving sex, toilet humor, misogyny or crude racial/ethnic stereotypes. I'm pretty sure there are blacks out there with a more refined sense of humor, but not too many black movies cater to their kind.
My score: 3 (out of 10)