From the summary of “Next Day Air,” it sounds like a dark movie, but the casting director knew what he was doing by choosing this cast of people.
From the summary of “Next Day Air,” it sounds like a dark movie, but the casting director knew what he was doing by choosing this cast of people.
Leo (played by Donald Faison) is an irresponsible, weed-smoking NDA delivery guy who has just one more chance to screw up before he’s fired—by Ms. Jackson, his own mother (played by Debbie Allen). And like the audience knew he would, he screwed up big time. Leo dropped off ten packages of cocaine to the wrong apartment number and the sneaky business transaction came into play between Brody (played by Mike Epps) and Guch (played by Wood Harris) while their sleeping, farting and paranoid uninvited roommate, Hassie (played by Malik Barnhardt) was unaware.
Brody’s cousin Shavoo (played by Omari Hardwick) is contacted to exchange the drugs for cash and brings along his friend Buddy (played by Darius McCrary, commonly known as Eddie Winslow from “Family Matters”). The only problem is Shavoo’s money is gone, and he has to figure out who stole it. And while Shavoo is trying to solve this dilemma with Buddy, Jesus (played by Cisco Reyes), Brody and Guch’s next door neighbor, wants to know where his package is. Yes, the same one Brody and Guch received by mistake. Jesus is running around attacking innocent NDA delivery guys like Eric (played by Mos Def), trying to get ahold of the drugs before his boss, Bodega (played by Emilio Rivera) finds out Jesus doesn’t have it.
A movie about a drug transaction just doesn’t ring funny, but Wood Harris has a subtle sense of humor and slick comments to balance out Mike Epps’ quirky sense of humor. As in all movies with Mike Epps, the random funny voices he does about something “strange for a piece of change” and “for the money, honey” earn a chuckle. And as serious as rapper Mos Def is on the mic, he’s a great comedic actor in films without being too extra to get a laugh out of the audience. But one of the more amusing characters was one not shown much in the previews, Jesus’ girlfriend, Chita (played by Yasmin Deliz). Chita is the ‘ride-or-die chick’ who argues with Jesus through pretty much the entire movie when she’s not trying to save his life or throwing eggs at the wall. The chemistry between Shavoo and Buddy is also entertaining to watch, especially when they’re looking for the missing money.
Another notable cast member includes Lauren London as Leo’s ex-girlfriend, but she only makes a couple of appearances. Although Mos Def is shown in the previews, he’s only in a couple of scenes too.
The music selections during the climactic scenes were also fitting: "Cocaine" by Robin Thicke and "I Get Money" by 50 Cent stood out the most. The ending wasn’t at all like I expected, but I was definitely amused.
“Next Day Air” was a much funnier movie than I expected, and I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars.
For more information behind the scenes, check out “’Next Day Air’ a perfect fit for director, cast.”
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