 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Next Day Air
- Review Date: May 7, 2009
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 2009
Common Sense Media says
Violence overshadows humor in urban action comedy.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that although the trailers for this movie make it seem like a comic caper, it's actually a violent film that earns its R rating. There's a huge stand-off where all the major players shoot at each other -- and most of them die. Scenes also show a character being tortured and/or killed and others being threatened at gun and knife point. Characters swear constantly ("f--k" is used more times than you can count), smoke cigarettes and weed, and even snort cocaine. And then there's the scene in which two women undress (one is shown topless) and kiss each other. (At least the consumerism is limited to one character's fixation on Cadillac Escalades.)
What's the story?
Leo (Scrubs star Donald Faison) is a Philadelphia express-mail carrier who's so high on marijuana that he mistakenly delivers an important package to two small-time hustlers. The box, naturally, contains 10 bricks of high-grade cocaine, which petty robbers Guch (Wood Harris) and Brody (Mike Epps) decide to keep and sell for themselves. Meanwhile, a Puerto Rican druglord called Bodega (Emilio Rivera) demands to know why his product hasn't been received by his Philly seller, a hilariously Napoleonic dealer named Jesus (Cisco Reyes), and his feisty, statuesque girlfriend, Chita (Yasmin Deliz). With the package tracked as "delivered," hotheaded Bodega doesn't believe Jesus' story that he hasn't gotten the drugs, so he sets out to find his box by all means necessary.
Is it any good?
First-time feature director Benny Boom and writer Blair Cobbs have made an urban homage to Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie. But unlike their films, which expertly mix humor and violence, NEXT DAY AIR's trigger-happy scenes effectively kill the comedy. It's a waste of talent that includes the entertaining Mos Def and Harris, whose amazing work as a Baltimore drug kingpin on HBO's The Wire seems far, far behind him. Faison, for his part, seems to be channeling an idiot version of his lovable Doctor Turk.
Seeing yet another veteran of The Wire in a subpar flick begs the question of whether there will ever be another creative vehicle for a minority cast that doesn't devolve into caricature -- like Deliz's Chita, who wears tight clothes and practices Santeria, or Epps' Escalade-obsessed thug. The newbie filmmakers get extra points for effort -- especially for attempting the always-hard-to-pull-off "Mexican stand-off" -- but the result is just C-level.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how the movie depicts minorities. Is it stereotypical and/or offensive that all the criminals are Latino and African American? Do you think any of the characters are intended to be role models? Families can also discuss how humor is handled in the movie. Are there more jokes or more violence? Does the movie's tone affect the impact of the violence? Parents may also want to discuss the casual drug use among the characters. What are the consequences of drug use in real life?
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AGE
bloody profane violent black comedy
beware like observe and report this is a sinical black action comedy. trust me one of the joke's involves a man's thrut being slit. there are lots of f bombs but if you saw observe and report you can hendle this film if you like the humor there's plenty to enjoy in this comedy that will make you never want to use fed-ex again . if you get past the sick brutal on par with crank violence please go this this very funny film
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AGE
Next Day Air
Pretty funny, drug and violence are present and shown very clearly. Language is heard nearly no-stop for most of the movie.
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| Studio: | Summit Entertainment |
| Director: | Benny Boom |
| Cast: | Donald Faison, Mike Epps, Wood Harris |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 98 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | May 8, 2009 |
| DVD release date: | September 15, 2009 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | pervasive language, drug content, some violence and brief sexuality |
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