House
Party 2 (zero
stars)
review by Jon
Waterman
Kid is finally going off to college, just as his late father
always wanted. He even got a scholarship check that’s
just waiting to be cashed. Unfortunately, Play, who was keeping
the check for safe keeping, hands the money over to a phony
record producer with the hopes of sparking his rap career.
Kid tries everything to get the money raised to stay in college.
The only thing that can possibly work is a monster party (complete
with cover charge) on campus. If they get caught, Kid gets
expelled. If he doesn’t raise enough money, he gets expelled.
Will Kid stay in school?
This follow up to the hit
comedy from the previous year doesn’t
quite hit the mark. Brand new writers and directors were brought
in and they just didn’t quite do it justice. First time
directors George Jackson and Doug McHenry can’t quite
capture that same lively attitude. Rookie writer Rusty Cundieff
paired with established sitcom writer Daryl G. Nickens (“Benson,” “Webster,” “A
Different World”) also bring the focus away from the
good-natured themes that the first film exhibited. The other
problem is that the party, while in the title, isn’t
the central plot driving force that it should be. In fact,
more than forty-five minutes pass by before a party is even
mentioned. At least in the first film, it was announced from
the start, so you knew it was coming. In a movie titled house
party, I want to see a house party, not someone struggling
with school.
The movie seems to be nothing more than a bunch of rappers
promoting themselves. Aside from the obvious Kid ‘N’ Play
(fresh from their failed cartoon series and back in an R rating),
we also get Kamron (one of the white guys that comprise Young
Black Teens), Queen Latifah, three-fifths of Full Force (the
thugs from the first film, who now play campus security guards),
and cameos by R&B acts Tony, Toni, Tone and Ralph E. Tresvant
from New Edition. They provide a little bit of good music.
Speaking of the thugs, they’re not the only ones returning
for a second run. The writers find a way to bring back some
of the very minor characters to provide the same punchline
as before. It’s what they call throwback humor. But it’s
not funny. It’s lame. Where’s the originality?
Almost all the jokes are bad and the delivery just plain stinks.
The movie drags on for too long. The lack of a score or any
type of music in the background makes the 94 minute running
time nearly unbearable. Play owns a record store in the film
and these guys are obviously friends with a lot of musicians,
so you’d think they could have a song playing in there
or something. Add to that the cheesy sound effects that are
everywhere, and its pretty easy to imagine why it would be
hard to see this one through. Boing! Zip! I’m gone. Woosh!
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