Next Day Air (R)
Scott:
Scott: Tonight I am reviewing Next Day Air
, a Quentin Tarantino- like movie involving drugs, shipping and Jesus.
Mike is off reviewing Star Trek, so he couldn’t make this review.
I head out to Apple’s website frequently to watch trailers. I go to movies all the time. I watch TV Thursday nights, and yet here I am, seeing another movie that I managed to miss every trailer for. This is one of those movies that if you only read the synopsis, you won’t be excited to see. It’s also one of those rare movies that exceeds your expectations.
The movie is about Leo (Donald Faison), the Next Day Air driver, incorrectly delivering a package to the wrong address. Leo has a slight problem with smoking a little too much marijuana. Unfortunately, his lack of reading comprehension while on the chronic leads him to deliver a package to the wrong address. I liked watching Faison on screen as he is a very likable character. Leo is a terrible deliveryman, but a really nice guy.
This mistake leads us to the dynamic duo of Guch (Wood Harris) and Brody (Mike Epps). These two guys are the Keystone Cops of the criminal world. They don’t own a thing that isn’t stolen; they don’t even have original ideas. Christmas comes early to them as a package with a substantial quantity of drugs shows up at their door. I really liked watching these guys. They had some really funny lines, but it was their interactions, body language and facial expressions that really stood out. Some duos match up well on dialogue, but these guys blended well on every level.
Along the way we also meet Bodega (Emilio Rivera) and Rhino (Lobo Sebastian), the owners of the drugs, and Shavoo (Omari Hardwick) and Buddy (Darius McCrary), the prospective buyers of the drugs. Shavoo and Bodega are the leaders of their respective‘gangs’, yet are cut from different molds. Shavoo is having thoughts of leaving the business whereas for Bodega, that thought has never crossed his mind. Buddy is funny. He seems like a character right out of a Tarantino movie.
Finally, we have my favorites, Jesus (Cisco Reyes) and Chita (Yasmin Deliz). These were the intended recipients of the drugs and they are the ones who are in trouble if the drugs aren’t found. You know that both characters are into crime, but they are so normal. Sure, Jesus carries a gun, but it seems alien to him. I really liked the scenes with Deliz, I wasn’t sure which way her role would go, but I was happy with how it turned out. Most of the time the women in movies like this are over-the-top tough, or way too weepy, she was just right.
Even though Mos Def is featured prominently in the posters for the movie, you only see him for about 3 minutes.
This was director Benny Boom’s first movie. It seems like he has a good grasp on how to do it. I thought the movie flowed well and even though the ending was predictable, it was still a good ride.
This was also the first time out for writer Blair Cobbs. The dialog of the movie really helped sell it. Sometimes it wasn’t what you would expect, but overall, it worked well.
How do I rate this movie?
I really enjoyed it. There were several good laughs sprinkled throughout the entire film. Even though you could see the ending from the beginning, it was still fun. The characters reminded me a bit of people out of Tarantino movies and the ending is a reminder as well. I give this movie a 3.5 overall and a 3 for action/comedy.
