Movie Review – House Party 2

Release Date: October 23, 1991

Production Companies: New Line Cinema

For my review on the first film, click here.

When it comes to comedy sequels, some can be hits, and some can be misses. In this case, I can see that I recall liking this when it would come on USA a lot back in the 1990s to sometime in the early-2000s (I think the last time I saw it on there was either 2001 or 2002). However, in hindsight, I can see some problems with it, but that isn’t to say that there isn’t fun to be had, either.

I might be getting a little ahead of myself here.

Looking at the gap between the first two films, it didn’t take long for a sequel to come out. As a matter of fact, it was slightly more than a year and a half between releases. I know the first film was a hit, especially with a film done a low budget of $2.5 million, which is low even for late-1980s standards. I think it was good enough hit that New Line wanted to put out a sequel. The funny thing about this was that the first two “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” films had the same gaps. Given that “House Party” and “TMNT” were released by New Line, was it a coincidence? I think not!

The first thing you’ll notice at the start of the movie was that there was a small tribute to Robin Harris, who died not long after the release of the first film. You also hear Kid narrating a prayer for his late father and ending it with a line about how he was right to whoop his son’s ass in regards to the titular party from the first film. Cut to the title card and there is a dance number with dancers in graduation gowns and mortar boards dancing to “Rated R” by Ralph Tresvant (of New Edition) with smoke machine effects. Suddenly, Kid pops at the center of the circle with all of the smoke, and then Whoopi Goldberg appears to tell Kid about his failure in college, with Play laughing like a madman (probably a dub, because I doubt it was actually Play laughing) and Kid being given his punishment by the Full Force guys.

Of course, it was all just a dream. Kid was now going to college. Play isn’t as supportive for Kid’s choice because he is more interested in trying to get a record deal and tells Kid that he shouldn’t go to college. Play also happens to be working as a record store (Jeez, those are a relic of the past, even though throwback stores of that kind are a thing). Kid has a special check done by members of his church putting money for his college tuition, especially as a tribute to Kid’s father. Did I mention that Sidney will be going to the same university, which is also called Harris University? It’s clear that this university was named as such as a tribute to Robin Harris. Oh, and Martin Lawrence returned as Bilal, the DJ for the duo.

So it’s good to see some continuity in this film.

Kid gets a roommate named Jamal, played by Kamron of Young Black Teenagers, a group that had two albums and had a somewhat of a hit in that song “Tap the Bottle.” Did I mention that Jamal is white? Why is this relevant? Eh, given the time period, aside from Vanilla Ice, white rappers were not that common. But continuing with the plot, summary, Play meets this beautiful woman named Sheila, who is supposedly a record producer. Given that Play can’t resist a pretty face, he buys into what this woman says. Yes, she is a con artist, and also steals Kid’s tuition check (a lot of it was Play’s fault, too), which leads to a rift between the two. Kid can’t really study anywhere because he is not officially a student. And of course, given that this is a “House Party” film, there has to be a party to raise funds for Kid’s tuition.

Okay, I pretty much just talked about the whole plot…for a movie that came in 1991. Given that it’s a comedy, it’s not the most complex or deepest story out there. Okay, maybe not every last detail, but I could pretty much just say that it’s about getting quick cash for college and throwing a party in the mix.

However, the party doesn’t occur until more than halfway through the film. Most of the movie involves Kid and Sidney in college, with Sidney having a roommate named Zora (played by Queen Latifah), who has this ultra-feminist and “politically correct” outlook on things. The funny thing about a lot of the story is that while it feels like it takes place in a matter of weeks, if months, it really takes place within a week. So there’s a subplot with Kid and Sidney allegedly breaking up, but really, Sidney just anticipates that Kid wants to see other people and stuff.

I noticed that not only did the original director not return, but there were two different directors at the helm can give a different for this one. The first film wasn’t exactly grounded as there were plenty of over-the-top moments. This one, however, went for cartoon sound effects and visual effects such as speeding up a scene with Kid looking through a room for his check. Was I watching “Looney Tunes” or something? Not to mention a bit towards the end with there being a Benny Hill-esque chase sequence.

I wonder if the writers wanted to put scams into the plot some more because although both Kid and Play get conned by a couple of scam artists (however, it was mostly Play), Kid dealt with the dean’s assistant who conned him with Kid hoping to pay back his tuition. The assistant was named Miles, who was played by Christopher Judge. While in today’s world he is known for voicing Kratos in the more recent “God of War” games, he was also known as playing Teal’c on “Stargate SG-1,” although personally, I remember him as D-Mob in “Def Jam Vendetta” and “Def Jam Fight for NY.” Did I mention that Miles tried to put the moves on Sidney and later on during the party, Kid had a weird fantasy of Miles as a werewolf? I wonder what the writers were thinking when they came up with that.

I also have to talk about the party itself. Although this was the second film, with the title being “House Party,” there has to be a party, right? I mentioned before that it takes place more than halfway through the film, it serves as the film’s climax, as well as the hijinks that ensued after. Because this was called a “Pajama Jammy Jam,” that meant it was a pajama party, but with women dressed in sexy negligees and stuff. With it supposedly underground, there was quite a budget to have it on campus in the dining hall with signs and a stage that had colorful lights on the floor, not to mention live performances by Ralph Tresvant and Tony! Toni! Toné! (RIP Dwayne Wiggins). Given that they were known at the time, how much did they pay for their performances? Eh, not important, but it seemed like a big enough thing to put together in such a short amount of time, as well as the faculty and staff not knowing about it. I also must add that the characters of Chill and Groove made cameos in this film. Not sure why, but it was funny to see Groove talk like he is all “Black Power” and “Nation of Islam.” I guess there needed to be some black stereotypes of different kinds, especially with N.W.A.-lite gangsta-types seen in one scene.

So how does this compare to the first film? Well, I can still watch it and there is still some humor there. Martin Lawrence helped with that in some scenes. While some fun can be had, it felt like it went overboard with it being a live-action cartoon in some bits, as well as the majority of the plot being about Kid’s struggles, which wasn’t bad, but I felt it was a bit all over the place. At least there was some character development with Play, who showed that he was a bad friend in the film, but at least he redeemed himself towards the end. It is, however, interesting to see this as a time capsule with many elements being dated. I don’t just mean now, or even the 2010s. Hell, it probably seemed dated in the late-1990s to even the 2000s (the aughts, I mean).

In the end, it is what it is. It’s not as good as the first film. I can still enjoy it, but I felt like I was watching a different movie when it came to Kid dealing with his professor and stuff. However, it’s not bad if you do a triple-feature of the first three films, and maybe “Class Act.” Speaking of which, I went back and forth on what to touch on next. With “Class Act” coming out after this, I may do “House Party 3” next, because really, I am a little iffy about doing the other films.

NEXT UP: House Party 3