Friday is a 1995 comedy-drama film set in Watts, Los Angeles, California, where star Ice Cube grew up. The film was directed by F. Gary Gray and revolves around 16 hours in the lives of two best friends: Smokey (Chris Tucker) and Craig (Ice Cube). The day after Craig loses his job, he and Smokey go through a series of misadventures on their quest to find enough money to pay off a notorious drug dealer, Big Worm (Faizon Love), who has threatened to kill them unless they pay by 10 p.m.
John Witherspoon, Bernie Mac, Anna Maria Horsford, Nia Long, Paula Jai Parker, Regina King, Tom Lister Jr. and Faizon Love (Bebe's Kids) also star.
It is also known for making the line "you got knocked the fuck out!", which is said twice during the movie, a pop culture reference.
Most of this movie was filmed in the southern-most part of South Central Los Angeles. The street that Smokey, Craig, and most of the other characters lived on is 126th Street in Los Angeles, between Normandie Ave. and Halldale Ave. Aside from some of the houses being painted different colors since the movie was filmed, the street presently looks identical to how it looked in the movie. The liquor store that they went to, where A.J. Johnson portrayed a crackhead, is located in Gardena, California, on 135th Street.

Craig is a laid-back kind of guy, and all he wants to do is live life before something happens to him. He sometimes has some arguments with his sister Dana. He and Smokey try to beat the neighborhood "pest" Lil' Chris, and he (Craig) also made a name for himself when he knocked Deebo out. He has a dad who works as a dog catcher and a mom who loves him, but who also likes to get him into trouble. He also has a "rich" uncle in Rancho Cucamonga, as well as a cousin (Day-Day) who lands on the "list" of people who will likely get shot. But Craig lives each day as any other day (except perhaps Friday).

Smokey was a drug dealer working for supplier Big Worm (Faizon Love). Smokey himself was a heavy marijuana smoker and when he and his friend Craig (Ice Cube), spent a Friday afternoon together, Smokey got him to smoke some of the marijuana that he was supposed to be selling for Worm, however he apparently had smoked more of it before. Later in the day, Big Worm paid a visit to the boys' neighborhood. Smokey told him that they smoked up all of his weed, even though Smokey smoked more than Craig did. Big Worm then threatened Smokey, saying if they didn't pay him the money they owed him by 10 PM, he would kill both of them. So Craig and Smokey made up strategies to see how they could come up with the money. Craig asked his mother Betty (Anna Maria Horsford) and sister (Regina King) and they both turned him down. Craig's father Willie (John Witherspoon), found out about the threat Big Worm sent Smokey and he kicked Smokey out of the house, but Craig followed him. They went outside and saw a van, which contained Big Worm's friends, who have machine guns, and fire them at Craig and Smokey. Craig fired back with a pistol but missed. To avoid the gang, the boys then hid in a truck. On their way back to the neighborhood, Deebo (Tom Lister, Jr., has beat up Debbie (Nia Long)'s sister Felisha in a display of domestic violence. Deebo became heated over it and he slaps Debbie for the comments she assaulted him with. Then Craig came and pushed Deebo, and they fought. Craig ended up winning and the neighborhood is happy. The film ends with Smokey in his room talking to Big Worm on the telephone talking about the events that occurred on that day. Smokey finally told Big Worm he was going to rehab. Then lights up a joint and says: "I was just bullshittin', and you know this......MAN!"

Deebo is portrayed as the villain in the Friday movie series. He has a menacing appearance, and its evident since every character fears Deebo. In Friday, Deebo intimidated people in South Central by stealing a chain, knocking someone out, stealing a beach cruising bike and forcing Smokey to break into a house. When Deebo is spotted, people would usually hide all of their personal belongings to prevent them from being stolen by Deebo. Craig, the protagonist of the movie series, gets fed up and decides to confront Deebo in the final moments of Friday by pulling out a gun. After a lengthy fist fight, Deebo gets "knocked the fuck out" by Craig (as quoted by Smokey).
Deebo later seeks revenge in the movie Next Friday by breaking out of prison, but he ends up getting arrested again. He is replaced by Damon, played by Terry Crews in Friday After Next.

In early April 2007, Ice Cube was a guest on Angie Martinez' Hot97 radio show and stated that he was interested in bringing back Chris Tucker as 'Smokey' in a possible Friday sequel, but that was only possible if "New Line cuts the check." This is unlikely as Tucker's Rush Hour sequel performances earned him over 20 million dollars per film, and the entire budget for the sequel Next Friday was only 11 million dollars. To date, Tucker himself has publicly never indicated any interest in appearing in a Friday sequel over the last 12 years. In an interview with BlackFilm.com, Ice Cube stated that he would be interested in involving all major characters from the Friday franchise in a possible sequel, but added "I know I'm not going to get Chris Tucker back, but I'd love to get everybody else back."

The neighborhood where the film takes place is the same neighborhood in which Boyz n the Hood (also starring Ice Cube) was filmed.
The license plate on Smokey's car is "FCK IT".
F. Gary Gray was seen in the store where Ezal fell and quoted "My neck, my back, my neck and my back."
The neighborhood where the film takes place is the same street where the film's director, F. Gary Gray, grew up in South Los Angeles. Principal houses that were used for filming were houses of old friends of the director. The scene where Deebo punches Red into the air is the house that F. Gary Gray grew up in.
John Witherspoon and Anna Maria Horsford later worked together on the WB Network sitcom The Wayans Bros.
John Witherspoon and Regina King are working together again in the animated series called The Boondocks.
A young Meagan Good has a small part as a kid at Big Worm's ice-cream truck. She is credited as Kid #2, is wearing a blue baseball cap and says "I hate him" as Big Worm drives away.
A then-unknown Michael Clarke Duncan makes a small uncredited appearance as a Craps player to the left of Smokey in the scene where Deebo punches Red in the air.
Ice Cube's Westside Connection partner, W.C., does an appearance in the end of the movie as one of the shooters that try to kill Craig and Smokey. He is credited as William L. Calhoun Jr.
On one episode of The Boondocks, Huey Freeman explains his plan for helping a friend escape prison. In the plan, he says that Granddad Robert (played by John Witherspoon, who also plays Willie, Craig's father in Friday) will drive him to the prison and that Granddad will just sit in the car and watch Friday. John Witherspoon quotes himself from Friday such as "Pig feet, how'd they get that?" and "It's yo' ass mistah post man!" In another episode of The Boondocks, Granddad comes out of the bathroom he quotes "no one go in there for at least 30 to 45 minutes woo! Somebody open a window!" In another episode of The Boondocks, Riley gets in an argument with his Grandad about "game" the same conversation that Craig and his mom get into when she tells Craig that he doesn't have any game.
The scenes in front of houses all have their windows open to stop reflections of the crew and cameras.
Ice Cube's character Craig is wearing the same clothes at the beginning of the movie, that his character Doughboy is wearing at the end of the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood.