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Next Friday, the sequel to 1995's weed-smoking buddy-comedy Friday, may not have Chris Tucker as part of the cast, but it still manages to be just as idiotic and un-PC.

Written by and starring Ice Cube, the thread-bare plot involves Craig (Cube), the slacker from the 'hood, moving out to the suburbs to live with his millionaire Uncle Elroy (Don "DC" Curry) so that he can escape local bully Debo and his criminal sidekick (Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr. and Sticky Fingaz), both of whom have just escaped from prison.

Just like the original, there's a lot of ducking and chasing from other characters in the picture. And just like the original, Craig and his new friend Day-Day (Mark Epps) have to get together some money before the end of the day in order to stop a disaster.

Cube, as an actor, appears a lot more confident this time around, and the rhythmic energy of his dialogue results in character interactions developing a lot quicker than they did in the original. "I'm about to show you who the real Puff Daddy is," shouts Uncle Elroy during a hilarious weed smoking session.

The introduction of Clifton Powell as "Pinky", the record store boss/pimp, is definitely noteworthy; and the drug-selling Latino neighbours (Jacob Vargas, Lobo Sebastian and Rolando Molina) provide plenty more genuinely funny moments. Witherspoon also shines as Craig's dog-catching Dad once again; and while Mike Epps isn't as funny as Chris Tucker, he does provoke a few good laughs. There's even a bit-part for Michael Rapaport as a racist postman.

Most of the comedy is based upon stereotypes, drug abuse and sexism, while the catchy Hip-Hop soundtrack (including songs by Wyclef Jean, Wu-Tang Clan and Aaliyah, among others) bumps in the background. It's all pretty mindless stuff, but the best advice is to just light a blunt in hope that you don't take it all to heart -- you'll enjoy Next Friday a lot as a result.

(EDIT: Andy Carrington does not promote the use of illegal substances to enhance one's movie-watching experience.)

(C) Andy Carrington, 2010.