12 Funny Movies Like Friday Everyone Needs To See
Since debuting in 1995, "Friday" has become a cult classic for a multitude of reasons. Most prominently, the movie is a staple of the stoner comedy subgenre. "Friday" is an iconic cannabis feature alongside the likes of "Dazed and Confused," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," and "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle." Nevertheless, "Friday" offers much more than marijuana-infused comedy.
Taking place in South Central Los Angeles, "Friday" intentionally shifted the way that the hood was portrayed in film. Where movies like "Boyz n the Hood" and "Menace II Society" make the neighborhood look dangerous and scary, the comedy counteracts the darker, violent themes by illuminating the fun and wild lifestyle found in South Central.
Perhaps best known these days for its internet-famous "Bye, Felicia" throwaway line, the New Line Cinema feature turned its modest $3.5 million budget into a considerable box office success that spawned two sequels and an animated series. The breakout film for Chris Tucker also defined Ice Cube as the powerhouse of a comedic straight man that we've since seen in "21 Jump Street" and "Fist Fight."
"Friday" is such an enjoyable adventure through the hood and cannabis culture that it leaves you wanting more, at which point it seems logical to watch "Next Friday" and "Friday After Next." But after bingeing the trilogy, where's a "Friday" fan supposed to go for more blazed cinematic chuckles? Below are 12 movies that you could include in a "Friday"-night watch party.
Grow House
While Ice Cube and Chris Tucker deservingly receive much of the credit for the success of "Friday," DJ Pooh played Red and co-wrote the screenplay along with Ice Cube, making him equally essential to the project. According to Complex, Tucker's character, Smokey, was initially written for DJ Pooh and based on many of his own personal experiences.
Fast forward 20-some-odd years, and DJ Pooh's filmography remains limited compared to his co-stars. He's only written and directed a handful of features films with 2017's "Grow House" standing as the most noteworthy success.
Featuring plenty of the cannabis-infused humor associated with "Friday," the story of "Grow House" includes other relatable themes including financial troubles. However, unlike the stoners of "Friday," the main characters of "Grow House," played by DeRay Davis and Lil Duval, decide to pay off a debt by starting their own medical marijuana growing operation. Of course, the entire process wouldn't be complete without the involvement of some unique characters, such as legendary rapper Snoop Dogg. Although "Grow House" doesn't break the mold of the genre, it is a welcome addition to the pothead collection.
House Party
A significant part of the appeal of "Friday" is its comedic day-in-the-life peek at the milieu of teenage Black culture in the '90s. However, before hood films added the lighthearted tone seen in "Friday," there were relatively few movies showcasing young African Americans in such reality. Arguably, one of the most influential films of this genre was the 1990 feature "House Party."
Much like "Friday," which starred the established musician Ice Cube, "House Party" went to the music scene for its leading actors. Although "House Party" almost cast DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, the headlining roles eventually landed in the laps of another then-famous hip-hop duo, Kid 'n Play. Who knows how the alternative would have played out, but thankfully, the movie is rollin' with Kid 'n Play.
The comedic portrayal of hip-hop culture follows the duo in high school with their sights set on attending the biggest party of the year. After overcoming all the obstacles in their way, Kid 'n Play turn up the party with their unique brand of rap and perform one of the greatest dance routines of all time. Meanwhile, they are forced to face relatable teenage struggles including girls, bullies, and misunderstanding parents.
How High
If all you need after a viewing of "Friday" is legendary rappers delivering low-brow humor while smoking plenty of weed, then here is the buddy stoner film for you. "How High" is a movie that doubles down on onscreen cannabis smoking, crafting one of the most outrageously out-there trips you can watch. When consuming the top films in the cannabis culture genre, "How High" is a can't miss for its over-the-top portrayal of stoners. In fact, it landed the 2002 Stony Award for best stoner movie.
If we're all being honest, the plot of "How High" sounds like it was written after inhaling far too much weed. The movie follows Method Man and Redman, who use their deceased friend's ashes as fertilizer to grow a new batch of pot. To their considerable surprise, smoking this death-infused marijuana grants them the ability to talk to their friend on the other side. Thankfully, their ghost pal happens to be a genius who helps the underachieving potheads ace their THC (Testing for Higher Credentials) exams and land a scholarship to Harvard University, of all places, where the heroes of the film continue to smoke weed.
The Wash
"Friday" leading man and star actor Ice Cube made a name for himself by tearing up the West Coast rap scene in the late '80s. Yet, it might surprise some fans to know that another NWA alum starred in his own buddy-stoner movie. Dr. Dre, best known for being a Grammy Award-winning record producer, has made a few stabs at acting throughout his illustrious music career, including appearances in "Training Day" and "Set it Off." However, Dre made his first–and-only run with a leading role in a big-budget feature in 2001's "The Wash."
Just like "Friday" and "Grow House," DJ Pooh also wrote "The Wash," and the movie is loaded with recognizable names from the world of hip hop. Alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg takes a leading role in a cast list filled out by Xzibit, Ludacris, Shaquille O'Neal, and an uncredited Eminem in his film debut. Like the protagonist of "Friday," Dre's character Sean struggles with an unsatisfactory cash flow situation. Unlike Craig or Smokey in "Friday," Sean takes a responsible job at the local carwash. But let's just say the other characters might not match Sean's responsible inclinations, at least not in the conventional sense. If you are looking for a film with a similar tone and humor to "Friday," then "The Wash" should be on your list.
Barbershop
Hilariously, Jonah Hill once shared in an interview on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" that one of the only things that can make Ice Cube laugh is watching "Friday." Now, if "Friday" is perhaps the only movie funny enough to break the straight man's rock-solid stoicism, it might be worth delving deeper into his filmography for more comedy gems. The musician-slash-actor has a surprisingly versatile list of credits, including appearances in children's films, action movies, and animation. Nevertheless, many of his outings feature the actor playing a character similar to Craig in "Friday."
2002's "Barbershop" is one of Ice Cube's most notable acting credits. The successful feature spawned its own trilogy, a spinoff film headed by Queen Latifah, and a short-lived television series. Ice Cube's leading performance as Calvin could be interpreted as an older, mature, responsible variation of his "Friday" character. As the owner of the titular "Barbershop," he struggles to keep the doors in the face of substantial debt. The film comedically takes on many of the same themes as "Friday," including the often-turbulent livelihood of low-income Black communities.
Pineapple Express
If you are curious what "Friday" would be like if it was remade with a massive budget and recast with a-list Caucasian Hollywood actors, look no further than "Pineapple Express." This buddy-stoner film takes the plot of "Friday" and blows it up to an extreme scale that including car chases, explosions, and fields upon fields of cannabis. Aside from Seth Rogen's choice to fill his weed movie with action, the parallels between "Friday" and "Pineapple Express" are plentiful.
Putting the "bud" in buddies, the rapport between Seth Rogen and James Franco's Dale and Saul is easily comparable to Ice Cube and Chris Tucker's onscreen relationship as Craig and Smokey. Both couples feature the semi-conscientious straight man torn between responsibilities and weed paired with an unabashed pothead delivering side-splitting one-liners. Meanwhile, both films include lead characters attempting to overcome bullies and seemingly insurmountable fights with their drug suppliers. In terms villainy, Smokey and Craig's nemesis Deebo might not be on the same level as a Korean drug gang, but no matter how you smoke it, these two movies belong side by side as stoner classics.
I Got the Hook-Up
"Friday" broke the mold of hood films, which is the most significant aspect of its legacy alongside its onslaught of hilarity and tremendous depiction of weed. It was one of, if not the first, successful urban comedies to turn a modest budget into a box office smash. Although urban comedy eventually became a genre in its own right, one of the first films to follow the "Friday" formula of showing the lighter side of the hood was 1998's feature "I Got the Hook-Up." While not as successful as "Barbershop," "I Got the Hook-Up" has become a cult classic that received its own sequel in 2019 thanks to a social media campaign by producer and star Master P.
Not only does "I Got the Hook-Up" owe "Friday" for paving the way, but many actors appear in both films, including Ice Cube, A.J. Johnson, John Witherspoon, and Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. Subsequently, "I Got the Hook-Up" is a lighthearted crime film that sees its main characters, played by Master P and Johnson, get in trouble with local crime bosses and the FBI after peddling stolen cell phones. Although it does not carry the cannabis-heavy streetwise themes of "Friday," much of the comedy is tonally similar, and both movies make effective use of a modest budget.
Clerks
At first glance, "Clerks" couldn't be any further away from "Friday." Taking place on the opposite coast, "Clerks" features disgruntled customer service employees whose inflated sense of entitlement is making them bitter, whereas "Friday" puts the focus on unemployed would-be gangsters making the best of a bad situation. However, the two '90s features have far more parallels than you might expect.
Both of these cult classics took a very similar approach to how they were filmed. Limited by budget, each of these productions used an economical method of creating a movie that follows a day in the life of one of its leads. Further, both scripts are influenced by real-world events and individuals from the writers' personal lives. Even more impressively, these beloved stoner films were filmed within remarkably similar timeframes, with "Clerks" taking 21 days to shoot and "Friday" done in 20. Decades later, these films have each amassed a loyal, fanatical following. Furthermore, the very respectable box office success of "Clerks" a year prior might've helped New Line Cinema to decide to take a chance on the also relatively low budget "Friday."
Half Baked
It is near-impossible to talk about fan-favorite stoner films without bringing up "Half Baked." If you have not seen this movie, it should be near the top of your cannabis-infused watchlist. If "Friday" paved the way for urban comedies designed to be watched after smoking too much pot, "Half Baked" solidified and defined the genre for an entire generation.
Dave Chappelle, who stars as Thurgood "Sir Smoke-a-Lot" Jenkins, leads a cast that includes Guillermo Diaz and Jim Breuer, along with a sack full of cameos from cannabis advocates like Snoop Dogg, Jon Stewart, Willie Nelson, and Bob Saget. Despite the retroactive love for "Half Baked," the movie almost destroyed Chappelle's friendship with long-time co-writer Neal Brennan. The latter shared on the "Your Mom's House" podcast that after "Half Baked" got ripped apart by critics and mowed over by "Titanic" at the 1998 box office, both Chappelle and Brennan believed their careers were over.
Mac & Devin Go to High School
For Ice Cube and many other musicians appearing on this list, movies like "Friday" helped them reach a larger audience by getting their faces in theaters throughout the country. The same strategy of rappers using stoner comedy as a vehicle to reach an audience that might not necessarily listen to a ton of hip hop is partially what prompted Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa to create the 2012 film "Mac & Devin Go to High School."
Originally, the pair of artists didn't intend to craft a full-length feature movie and only expected to work on music together. Yet after the success of the song "Young, Wild & Free," Snoop Dogg was inspired to make a film complete with an original soundtrack alongside the then-budding Khalifa. As explained by Khalifa in an interview with MTV, his partnership with the veteran artist Snoop helped the young rapper establish himself as an up-and-coming crossover star. Khalifa's film debut didn't garner the positive reviews first hoped for, however for fans of the rappers and connoisseurs of buddy-stoner films, "Mac & Devin Go to High School" has become a straight-to-DVD staple.
The Wackness
Perhaps one of the most underappreciated marijuana movies out there, "The Wackness" is a movie with many similarities to "Friday." Leaning away from the wild adventures of life in South Central Los Angeles, "The Wackness" takes a more honest approach to depicting a coming-of-age story in a low-income community during the '90s. Like Ice Cube's character Craig, Josh Peck delivers a comedically stoic performance as Luke Shapiro, a weed dealer who trades his goods for impromptu therapy sessions from Ben Kingsley's character, Dr. Squires.
Much like "Friday," this comedy-drama features wild neighborhood characters imprinting themselves on the otherwise average day of the main character. Not only does this film star a stellar cast that includes Method Man, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Famke Janssen, but it also helped Josh Peck break away from his typecasting as a dimwitted comedic relief actor established by his many years on Nickelodeon. Beyond being a surprisingly deep comedy film, "The Wackness" also offers one of the greatest soundtracks for fans of '90s hip-hop.
Up in Smoke
Certainly, "Friday" has been an inspiration for many films throughout the years. However, there are some movies that Ice Cube admits influenced the direction of "Friday." When discussing the 20th anniversary of the stoner tentpole with Rolling Stone, Ice Cube gives credit to Cheech and Chong for the types of movies he grew up watching.
The pot-smoking legends Cheech and Chong delivered a thick catalogue of entertainment during their height in the '70s and '80s, including stand-up comedy specials, studio recordings, and other notable side projects. Nevertheless, if you are prepared to dive into the rich, smoke-filled collection of Cheech and Chong content, there is no better place to start than their first official movie, "Up in Smoke." Released in 1978, "Up in Smoke" set the standard for buddy comedy-stoner films, and alongside its multiple sequels, it is where the genre began. Arguably, we wouldn't have "Friday" without this lovable pair of potheads.