Next Day Air
Encyclopedia
Next Day Air is a 2009 action
comedy film
that was released by Summit Entertainment
on May 8, 2009. The film starring Mike Epps
and Donald Faison
was produced on an estimated budget of $3 million. Two criminals accidentally accept a package of cocaine which they must sell before the real owner finds it missing.
company, but is going to get fired for any more mistakes. While delivering a package addressed to Jesus in apartment 302, Leo accidentally delivers it to apartment 303. Before Leo can leave Jesus asks if Leo has the package and gets worried when he is empty handed. Guch and Brody, two inept criminals, open the package and find ten bricks of cocaine
hidden in a clay pot. Brody remembers that his cousin, Shavoo, has cut cocaine before. Shavoo and his partner, Buddy, come to Guch's apartment and settle on $15,000 a brick.
Bodego, Jesus's boss and original sender of the package, calls to confirm the package was delivered. Jesus tells Bodego it was not delivered even though the tracking information says otherwise. Jesus is concerned that Bodego is going to kill him and assumes that Leo stole the package. While searching Jesus tells Chita that his previous boss was killed because of a similar situation. Jesus and Chita find Eric, another employee of NDA, who they hold at gun point and steal his watch. Finally realizing that it is not Leo they continue their search.
Shavoo has trouble getting the money from storage because he was robbed by the front desk clerk. He interrogates the clerk and finds the storage garage where his money and supplies are. Shavoo and Buddy locks the clerk and his accomplice inside a garage, bound and gagged with duct tape.
Bodego surprises Jesus in Philadelphia, to his dismay, and they search for Leo together. Jesus tortures Leo but he can't remember anything. Back at the apartments Leo is walking down the hallway and finally remembers he delivered it to 302. Bodego forces Leo to request the package back while Guch is inside counting the money. Brody informs Leo that he sent the package back to NDA headquarters. Bodego realizes something strange is going on and forces his way into the apartment. Everyone is at gun point but Guch takes the first shot at Jesus. After the gunfight Shavoo limps away nearly dead; Leo, completely uninjured, jumps up and leaves with the money; and Chita comes to check on Jesus, who is wounded. Luckily, he is saved by the watch he took from another employee of NDA earlier. Jesus and Chita walk away with the cocaine as sirens can be heard in the background.
Benny Boom got attached to the project when a friend got him in touch with a producer. He fell in love with the script after reading it and believed he could put his own style on it. He was also attracted to the script because it takes place in his hometown of Philadelphia. Next Day Air was shot in 20 days which Boom said he was able to do because he already had the film edited in his head. In the audio commentary of the DVD, the director mentions how he forbade the use of the "n" word for on-screen dialogue, and how that element is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Mos Def.
based on 20 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes
it received a "rotten" rating with a 22% based on 60 reviews. The general consensus was "Rife with half-baked jokes and excessive violence, Next Day Air is an uninspired stoner comedy."
Sam Adams of the Los Angeles Times
gave the film a negative review citing the fact that the director could not make up his mind, "whether he wants to make a straight-up crime movie or a tongue-in-cheek riff on the genre, and he lacks the wherewithal to do both at once." He went on to say that the film's plot had enough holes you could drive a delivery truck through." The Boston Globe
writer Janice Page thought the film had too many "deep talks" and that "none of these characters provides more than a smattering of laughs."
Roger Ebert
gave the film a more positive review stating that Benny Boom "knows what he's doing and skillfully intercuts the story strands." Ebert also wrote that the film has a lot of "dire dialogue" and it is "very sunny" Another positive review from Nathan Lee of The New York Times
wrote that Next Day Air had "a script that snaps, characters that pop, a blaze of streetwise attitude." He continued saying the film is "violent and profane but never vulgar or inhuman."
, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Obsessed
, and 17 Again
with approximately $4 million in revenue. Next Day Air steadily declined in the box office during its eight week run. The film grossed $10,027,047 ranking it 111 in films released in 2009.
. , it had grossed $4,578,713.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
that was released by Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
on May 8, 2009. The film starring Mike Epps
Mike Epps
Michael Elliot "Mike" Epps is an American stand-up comedian, actor, film producer, writer, singer, and rapper. He is best known for playing Day-Day Jones in Next Friday and the sequel-to-the-sequel, Friday After Next, and also starring alongside Ice Cube in All About the Benjamins...
and Donald Faison
Donald Faison
Donald Adeosun Faison is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor best known for his role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC comedy-drama Scrubs and as Murray in the film Clueless and the subsequent television series of the same name.Faison has also co-starred in the films Remember the Titans ,...
was produced on an estimated budget of $3 million. Two criminals accidentally accept a package of cocaine which they must sell before the real owner finds it missing.
Plot
Leo works for Next Day Air (NDA), a package deliveryPackage delivery
Package delivery or parcel delivery is the shipping of packages or high value mail as single shipments. While the service is provided by most postal systems, private package delivery services have also existed in competition with and in place of public postal services.-Package delivery in the...
company, but is going to get fired for any more mistakes. While delivering a package addressed to Jesus in apartment 302, Leo accidentally delivers it to apartment 303. Before Leo can leave Jesus asks if Leo has the package and gets worried when he is empty handed. Guch and Brody, two inept criminals, open the package and find ten bricks of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
hidden in a clay pot. Brody remembers that his cousin, Shavoo, has cut cocaine before. Shavoo and his partner, Buddy, come to Guch's apartment and settle on $15,000 a brick.
Bodego, Jesus's boss and original sender of the package, calls to confirm the package was delivered. Jesus tells Bodego it was not delivered even though the tracking information says otherwise. Jesus is concerned that Bodego is going to kill him and assumes that Leo stole the package. While searching Jesus tells Chita that his previous boss was killed because of a similar situation. Jesus and Chita find Eric, another employee of NDA, who they hold at gun point and steal his watch. Finally realizing that it is not Leo they continue their search.
Shavoo has trouble getting the money from storage because he was robbed by the front desk clerk. He interrogates the clerk and finds the storage garage where his money and supplies are. Shavoo and Buddy locks the clerk and his accomplice inside a garage, bound and gagged with duct tape.
Bodego surprises Jesus in Philadelphia, to his dismay, and they search for Leo together. Jesus tortures Leo but he can't remember anything. Back at the apartments Leo is walking down the hallway and finally remembers he delivered it to 302. Bodego forces Leo to request the package back while Guch is inside counting the money. Brody informs Leo that he sent the package back to NDA headquarters. Bodego realizes something strange is going on and forces his way into the apartment. Everyone is at gun point but Guch takes the first shot at Jesus. After the gunfight Shavoo limps away nearly dead; Leo, completely uninjured, jumps up and leaves with the money; and Chita comes to check on Jesus, who is wounded. Luckily, he is saved by the watch he took from another employee of NDA earlier. Jesus and Chita walk away with the cocaine as sirens can be heard in the background.
Cast
- Donald FaisonDonald FaisonDonald Adeosun Faison is an American actor, comedian, and voice actor best known for his role as Dr. Chris Turk in the ABC comedy-drama Scrubs and as Murray in the film Clueless and the subsequent television series of the same name.Faison has also co-starred in the films Remember the Titans ,...
as Leo: Faison "campaigned" to get this role almost to the point of begging because he wanted to work with Epps, Harris, and Def. - Mike EppsMike EppsMichael Elliot "Mike" Epps is an American stand-up comedian, actor, film producer, writer, singer, and rapper. He is best known for playing Day-Day Jones in Next Friday and the sequel-to-the-sequel, Friday After Next, and also starring alongside Ice Cube in All About the Benjamins...
as Brody: Epps did not do any improvising because he wanted to show people he did not "have to improv to be in a movie and be funny and do a good job." - Wood HarrisWood HarrisSherwin David "Wood" Harris is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO television drama The Wire, and as high-school football player Julius Campbell in the 2000 motion picture Remember the Titans.-Life and career:Harris was born in...
as Guch - Cisco Reyes as Jesus: While auditioning with Yasmin he gave her a spankingSpankingSpanking refers to the act of striking the buttocks of another person to cause temporary pain without producing physical injury. It generally involves one person striking the buttocks of another person with an open hand. When an open hand is used, spanking is referred to in some countries as...
to get her out the door and that helped her get the part. - Yasmin DelizYasmin DelizYasmin Deliz is an American singer-songwriter, model and actress of Dominican and Colombian and Venezuelan parentage. She is best known for her starring role in Next Day Air and her work as co-host on mun2's music video countdown show Vivo and reality television show The Chicas Project.-Early...
as Chita: Yasmin was a little worried about performing a SanteríaSanteríaSantería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
ritual but was willing to do it after reassurance from her mom that GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
was on her side. - Omari HardwickOmari HardwickOmari Lateef Hardwick is an American actor, known for his roles in the TV series Saved and Dark Blue, and in the movies Spike Lee's Miracle at St...
as Shavoo - Darius McCraryDarius McCraryDarius Creston McCrary is an American film and television actor and singer. He is perhaps best known for his role as Eddie Winslow on the ABC/CBS television sitcom Family Matters...
as Buddy - Emilio RiveraEmilio Rivera-Early life:Rivera was born in San Antonio, Texas of Mexican descent. He is the oldest child of four brothers and three sisters. As a young boy, he and his family moved to Elysian Valley, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.-Acting career:...
as Bodego - Lobo Sebastian as Rhino
- Mos DefMos DefDante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
as Eric - Lauren LondonLauren LondonLauren Nicole London is an American film and television actress, model, and occasional music video actress. Beginning her career in music videos and later transitioning into film and television, London earned recognition for her performances in the film ATL as well as the television shows 90210...
as Ivy - Debbie AllenDebbie AllenDeborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities...
as Ms. Jackson - Cassidy as Cass (Cameo of a Drug Dealer)
- Jo D. JonzJo D. JonzJo D. Jonz , is an American method actor, maverick writer, director, and film producer. He began acting as early as five years old and he had the great pleasure of working with some of today's most visionary directors and actors throughout his career...
as Wade
Production
| "I was able to put my touches on it and add that extra spice to make it right." — Benny Boom, director |
Benny Boom got attached to the project when a friend got him in touch with a producer. He fell in love with the script after reading it and believed he could put his own style on it. He was also attracted to the script because it takes place in his hometown of Philadelphia. Next Day Air was shot in 20 days which Boom said he was able to do because he already had the film edited in his head. In the audio commentary of the DVD, the director mentions how he forbade the use of the "n" word for on-screen dialogue, and how that element is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Mos Def.
Critics
The film has mixed reviews receiving a 46/100 rating on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
based on 20 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
it received a "rotten" rating with a 22% based on 60 reviews. The general consensus was "Rife with half-baked jokes and excessive violence, Next Day Air is an uninspired stoner comedy."
Sam Adams of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
gave the film a negative review citing the fact that the director could not make up his mind, "whether he wants to make a straight-up crime movie or a tongue-in-cheek riff on the genre, and he lacks the wherewithal to do both at once." He went on to say that the film's plot had enough holes you could drive a delivery truck through." The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
writer Janice Page thought the film had too many "deep talks" and that "none of these characters provides more than a smattering of laughs."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film a more positive review stating that Benny Boom "knows what he's doing and skillfully intercuts the story strands." Ebert also wrote that the film has a lot of "dire dialogue" and it is "very sunny" Another positive review from Nathan Lee of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote that Next Day Air had "a script that snaps, characters that pop, a blaze of streetwise attitude." He continued saying the film is "violent and profane but never vulgar or inhuman."
Box office
The film opened at #6 on its opening weekend, behind Star Trek, X-Men Origins: WolverineX-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 American action film based on the Marvel Comics' fictional character Wolverine. The fourth installment in the X-Men film series, it was released worldwide on May 1, 2009...
, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Obsessed
Obsessed (2009 film)
Obsessed is a 2009 American thriller film directed by Steve Shill. The Screen Gems production stars Idris Elba, Beyoncé Knowles and Ali Larter...
, and 17 Again
17 Again (film)
17 Again: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on April 21, 2009 by New Line Records.-Track listing:# "On My Own" by Vincent and The Villains# "Can't Say No" by The Helio Sequence# "L.E.S...
with approximately $4 million in revenue. Next Day Air steadily declined in the box office during its eight week run. The film grossed $10,027,047 ranking it 111 in films released in 2009.
Home media
Next Day Air was released on September 15, 2009 on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. , it had grossed $4,578,713.
Soundtrack
| Track # | Title | Performer | Length (M:SS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Philly Cityscape" | The Elements | 01:06 |
| 2 | "Count My Money" | Trick Daddy Trick Daddy Maurice Young , better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is a certified platinum American rapper and producer from Miami, Florida.-Music career:... |
03:44 |
| 3 | "Heat Rocks" | Raekwon Raekwon Corey Woods , better known by the stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in 1995, and has since recorded four solo albums, as well as work with Wu-Tang and an extensive amount of guest contributions with... |
03:58 |
| 4 | "Get the Tapes" | The Elements | 00:41 |
| 5 | "Sixty Million Dollar Flow" | Glasses Malone Glasses Malone Charles Phillipivory Penniman , better known by his stage name Glasses Malone, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California.-Early life:Glasses Malone grew up in the Watts and Compton neighborhoods in Los Angeles County... |
03:55 |
| 6 | "Honestly" | Kurupt Kurupt Ricardo Emmanuel Brown , better known by his stage name Kurupt, also known as Kurupt Tha Kingpin, Kurupt Young Gotti or Young Gotstra is an American rapper and former Executive Vice President of Death Row Records... |
03:21 |
| 7 | "In the Life" | Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes | 03:45 |
| 8 | "Videogame" | The Elements | 00:51 |
| 9 | "Blunts & Roses" | Penuckle | 04:27 |
| 10 | "Cerebro Orgasmo Envidia & Sofia" | Martin Buscaglia | 04:38 |
| 11 | "Day Ago" | Spider Loc Spider Loc Curtis Norvell Williams, more commonly known as Spider Loc is an American rapper signed to G-Unit Records.Loc is also the CEO of G-Unit West.-Biography:... |
03:00 |
| 12 | "It's Real" | Darius McCrary Darius McCrary Darius Creston McCrary is an American film and television actor and singer. He is perhaps best known for his role as Eddie Winslow on the ABC/CBS television sitcom Family Matters... |
04:43 |
| 13 | "Ave" | The Elements | 00:42 |
| 14 | "Gone Get It" | C-Dash | 03:28 |
| 15 | "Get It How You Live" | 5 Grand | 04:35 |
| 16 | "So Fly" | Meek Mill | 03:47 |
| 17 | "Next Day Air" | Prophet Prophet In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people... |
02:28 |