When Next Friday came out, some theorized that the reason it didn't measure up to its predecessor was that it lacked the comic touch of Friday co-screenwriter (and former Ice Cube producer) DJ Pooh. That theory dies about two minutes into Pooh's abysmal directorial debut, 3 Strikes, a comedy so shoddy and formless that it makes Next Friday look like Dr. Strangelove. The nearly unwatchable film concerns the plight of a twice-incarcerated ex-con (Brian Hooks of Phat Beach fame) who's released from prison only to find himself accused of a crime he didn't commit. Such a premise should give the movie some sort of dramatic urgency or forward momentum, as should 3 Strikes' brief running time. But the film is so lazy, sluggish, and meandering that its 82 minutes feel like a lifetime in cinematic purgatory. A graduate of the Master P school of amateur, style-free 'hood filmmaking, Pooh imbues 3 Strikes with none of the laid-back atmosphere or easy-going charm of Friday, falling closer to the terrain of such random alleged-comedies as Foolish and I Got The Hook Up. Pooh's script aims as low as possible, taking shots at such 'hood-comedy staples as flatulent uncles, predatory fat women, and flamboyant gay men, and it fails to provide even a single meek chuckle. It's still early, and John Travolta's Battlefield Earth may be a serious challenger, but 3 Strikes could well prove to be the worst film of 2000.