Friday After Next

It is Christmas Eve for most of the Christian world, but when Craig (Ice Cube) and Day-Day (Mike Epps) are rudely awaken by a burglar in a Santa suit, it is definitely another FRIDAY in the ghetto. The phony Santa gets away with all the cousins' Christmas gifts and their overdue rent money after assaulting Craig with a paltry Christmas tree. Cops are called in and do little more than confiscate Craig and Day-Day's pot stash. Though the cousins may be used to such adversity in the 'hood, they have never before had to think about getting real jobs in order to pay the bills. This third installment in the hip-hop stoner series follows L.A.'s lovable losers through their first day as rent-a-cops at a South Central strip mall.

As each problem they encounter becomes more and more ridiculous, screenwriter and star Ice Cube and first-time director Mark Raboy have constructed an irreverent African-American holiday farce. The film builds to a fever pitch at a holiday party where nearly every character in...