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Next Day Air (R, 2009)

common sense media says

Violence overshadows humor in urban action comedy.

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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.)

Positive messages: No role models here: The characters are all remorseless, opportunistic criminals who engage in multiple illegal activities -- theft, smuggling, drug dealing, and murder, just to name a few. Although the cast is laudably diverse, the minority characters are still portrayed stereotypically as gangsters and thugs.
Violence: Violence includes a huge climactic shoot-out that leaves many characters dead. A couple of deaths are particularly gruesome -- one guy is stabbed, and another's throat is slit after being tortured. Lots of gun-toting and gun-waving. At least a dozen guns are shown.
Sex: In one brief scene, two women kiss, and then one is shown topless. One of the main characters is a sexily dressed woman who's always wearing tight outfits.
Language: So many "F" bombs that there's no way to keep count. The "mother" of all "F" words is also said very frequently. Other words include "s--t," "bitch," "ass," "p---y," "son of a bitch," "a--hole," "dick," "bastard," "oh my God," and "goddamn."
Consumerism: Not many brands featured/mentioned besides Cadillac Escalade. 
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: The plot revolves around bricks of cocaine. Many characters smoke cigarettes and marijuana, and a couple of them have to try (i.e. snort) the cocaine, but their goal is more to check its purity instead of getting high. The protagonists drink as well.
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What to talk about

Talk to your kids
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?

What's the story?

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?

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.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Director: Benny Boom
Cast: Donald Faison, Mike Epps, Wood Harris
Genre: Drama
Run time: 98 minutes
Theatrical release: May 8, 2009
DVD release: September 15, 2009
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: pervasive language, drug content, some violence and brief sexuality
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This review was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
 
 

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SLUMDOG
teen, 14 years old
14
 
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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