House
Party (**1/2)
review by Jon
Waterman
Play is holding the biggest house party event of the school
year. His parents will be out of town and his friend Bilal
is set to spin the hottest cuts. Unfortunately, Kid isn’t
allowed to go, because he got into a fight with some bullies
at school. There’s no way he’s going to miss this
party. Everyone will be there, including every fine honey that
strolls the halls. Besides, Kid’s looking to spit some
of his fresh new rhymes. Can he sneak out and make it there
and back without getting caught and grounded for life?
The popular rap duo breaks into the acting world with less
than stellar performances. Kid (aka Christopher Reid) shows
a little more promise than the wooden, one-dimensional Play
(aka Christopher Martin). Their professional actor co-stars
show you the difference between the two. Tisha Campbell and
AJ Johnson (playing potential love interests for either guy
Sidney and Sharane) just seem to flow more naturally. The better-acted
moments come from the older folks. Comedian Robin Harris as
Pop, Kid’s father and John Witherspoon as an annoyed
next door neighbor add a nice little flair and some great lines.
The movie has plenty of good one-liners and recitable quotes.
Some of them are pretty forced, such as anything the thug trio
say, but the more legitimately funny moments stick with you.
It’s surprising to see how clean the movie is, considering
it’s rated R. That’s not to say that the language
isn’t filthy, because it is. Everyone swears like there’s
no tomorrow. But the party is cleaner than anything you’d
see from a PG movie about a house party. The only alcohol is
consumed by a guy who brought it himself, and everyone gives
him crap for it until he passes out. There are no drugs or
sex (at least not at the party) and the dancing is lively and
fun. This is the kind of house party you wish your kids threw
when you left town.
In fact the whole movie has a very light vibe to it. Writer/director
Reginald Hudlin (in his feature debut) along with cinematographer
Peter Deming (“Evil Dead II”) put together a warm,
inviting, and colorful setting. The color scheme is eclectic
and hectic, which accurately matches not only some of the fashions,
but also the attitude of the movie. It’s full of wacky
hijinx that is pieced together in a mostly believable way.
The movie isn’t insanely funny, but as I mentioned earlier,
it has some good moments. Even if you don’t laugh at
it for the right reasons, this is still a fun party that you’ll
want to stay at until it’s over.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
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