Craig’s (Ice Cube) Friday in Friday should have been a rather non-eventful one. He’d been fired on his day off and his only responsibility was proving to his parents that he was making at least some sort of effort to find a new job. His buddy Smokey wasn’t about to let this happen, though, pulling Craig into unwanted drama with not one, but two neighborhood bullies. Craig rises to the occasion, of course, and by the end of the movie rids his neighborhood of some unwanted drama, restoring justice in the process. Should you find a plague of drama in your own life, keep these Friday lines in your back pocket and keep telling yourself that the weekend’s just around the corner.
“My pops told me to ask for my bike back… you know I wouldn’t trip.” — Red
Nobody in Friday has it worse than Red (DJ Pooh). Not only has his bike been stolen by the neighborhood bully but he brings his dad along with him to retrieve it, middle school style. When he finally does interrupt Deebo (Tommy Lister) in the middle of his afternoon gambling session, he can’t even muster the courage to demand that he wants the bike back — pinning it on his pops instead. Things don’t end well for him and really only get worse as the day moves along. Should you be caught up in some neighborhood drama along these lines, remember to be assertive when standing your ground. It can go a long way in not “getting knocked the f*ck out.”
“This is what makes you a man. When I was growing up, this was all the protection we needed. You win some, you lose some, but you live. You live to fight another day. Now you think you’re a man with that gun in your hand, don’t you?” — Mr. Jones
Craig and his dad (John Witherspoon) might both have grown up in the same neighborhood, but their generations couldn’t be farther apart. It pains Craig’s dad to see that his son thinks he has to carry a gun to ensure his protection and he takes the opportunity to bestow some fatherly advice. It’s one of the rare moments in the movie where we see Craig’s father not nagging him about adult responsibilities and instead thoughtfully trying to keep his son on the right path. And like Mr. Jones says “you win some, you lose some, but you live to fight another day.” Nobody is going to be victorious in all of life’s battles, but how you approach them can go a long way in ensuring that you’re around for the next one.
“Dee-bo!” — Smokey
When Smokey (Chris Tucker) runs back to the porch and begins hiding his jewelry and Craig asks who’s coming all Smokey has to do is utter the two-syllable name of terror for Craig to do the same. While Smokey and Craig might make it out of the run-in with all of their possessions, Red again isn’t so lucky and Deebo walks off with his grandma’s chain. Whether it’s the name of a loathsome neighbor or some other source of discomfort, if a single name sends shivers down your spine it’s probably time to step-up like Craig and do something about it.
“That’s yo problem. Aint’ nobody playin’ but you. You walk up and down the street all day playin’. He aint’ playin’ you think he playin’ ’bout his money? He know where my momma stay know where you momma stay. He say he had a gun when you seen him right?” — Craig
“Yeah” — Smokey
“Well name one person in the hood that play like that!” — Craig
Just about everyone has known that one person in their life who thinks everything is a joke and fails to see the reality of the situation. Smokey is that person for Craig and pulls him into the predicament he’s already in with drug dealer/ice cream man Big Worm.
Big Worm clearly threatens Smokey and Craig with gun violence and Smokey still blows it off as nothing but big talk. The much wiser Craig doesn’t see the humor in the situation and hits Smokey with a reality check. While a person may or may not finally see the reality of the situation, sometimes a not so discrete wake-up call is in order.
“Yeah, I got your money. And I don’t appreciate you sendin’ your punk ass, busta ass, Jheri curl wearin’ ass friends come down here to shoot at me and my homie. They’d like to got dealt with.” — Smokey
Smokey finally wises up after a tough love talk from Craig — and an attempted drive-by shooting — and takes Big Worm’s threats seriously. While simply paying Worm back and distancing himself from the drug dealer would have been the smarter move, he can’t resist getting in a few threatening words. As Big Worm lays it out, though, his actions were simply the “principalities” of doing business. The lesson here: sometimes it’s best to just part ties with an unsavory person and resist the urge of getting in that one last verbal jab.
“You better get your ass off your shoulders and make that money.” — Craig
While Smokey would rather spend the rest of the afternoon getting high and relaxing like he doesn’t have a care in the world, Craig gives him the verbal push to quit slacking and pay Big Worm back. This line sounds like it could be the mantra of an investing firm, but it’ll serve anybody well if they need to call some out for dragging their heels when there’s work to be done. Simply replace “make that money” with whatever needs to be done and let the motivational words of Craig carry the slacker in your neighborhood to success.
“Bye, Felicia.” — Craig
While the Felicia in Craig’s case is nothing but a neighborhood mooch looking for a free handout, we all have a Felicia in our life. Maybe it’s a coworker who’s always trying to push their work onto you or something more metaphorical. The point is, dealing with the drama of a “Felicia” isn’t worth it and it’s going to be in your best interest to just say “bye, Felicia” and cut that drama from your life.
