Movie Review/Retrospective – House Party (1990)

Release Date: March 9, 1990

Production Companies: New Line Cinema

It had been a while since my last post. With this movie reaching its 35th anniversary, I thought it was time to touch on this, along with the series in general. However, I may add in “Class Act” in the mix because this may be a series on Kid ‘N Play movies in general, not just the “House Party” series.

I could say that I remember my mom renting this as a small child. Granted, considering how really young I was when she rented it, I didn’t know or understand much of anything that was going on. In fact, one thing that stood out was the hairstyles of Kid ‘N Play, particularly Christopher “Kid” Reid. I remember seeing those high-top fades around me back then and thinking they looked cool, but Kid’s was something else as it went up higher than I ever saw. Fast forward some years, this movie would be shown on Showtime, USA Network, or even local channels during the week or on weekend afternoons and I would tune in from time to time. It was the TV version in some cases, but I still watched it. Hey, I was only a child then.

First off, I am not completely familiar with Kid ‘N Play’s discography. I heard some songs here and there, but I was mostly familiar with their films. I watched the sequels (well, 2 and 3) and “Class Act,” which wasn’t connected to the “House Party” films, but it is definitely a film that I watched numerous times (oh, do I have some things to say when I get to that one). However, I do remember that the duo had a Saturday morning cartoon in the early-1990s. I would watch it in passing, but I remembered it. I’m sure some episodes are on YouTube and maybe I might cover it one day, along with “Hammerman.” *shudder*

But really, this movie is often considered a “hood classic,” as it was definitely one of the “hood comedies” to come out before “Friday,” which prior to that, most “hood movies” were serious dramas. Man, I still need to cover “Friday,” but not go off tangent here. In fact, when I read a review from this movie blogger named Outlaw Vern, he made a valid point that “Friday” has some similarities to this film. When I read that review many years ago, it dawned on me and thought, “you know, he’s right.”

This movie was still before the likes of “Boyz n the Hood” and “New Jack City,” but it was also after the likes of “Do the Right Thing” and “Colors,” both of which were dramas. However, when discussing the former, you could talk about any other Spike Lee film that was released up to that point. My point is that it was a nice change of pace to see a light-hearted side of the hood. Anyway, I think I should talk about the movie now.

So basically starts off with this strange dream sequence of a house party going on and then the roof blowing off into the sky. Suddenly, Kid wakes up and it is time to get ready for school. Kid and Play plan to throw a party that same day with Play’s parents out of town. They also want their friend Bilal (Martin Lawrence) to DJ the party, as well as score with the “two finest girls,” Sidney (Tisha Campbell) and Sharane (Adrienne-Joi Johnson). However, Kid gets into trouble as a scuffle breaks out with some bullies, particularly Stab (Paul Anthony of Full Force; more on this in a bit) and word comes back to Kid’s father, played by the late Robin Harris, who tells him not to go to the party but does so anyway.

I must point out that the two leads were in their mid-to-late-20s at this point. Kid was 25 when the movie was shot, while Play was 27. While I suppose it’s still a common thing to do this day, I doubt anyone would have thought they would be teens. However, I think Full Force, as in Paul Anthony, B-Fine, and Bowlegged Lou, who respectively play Stab, Zilla, and Peewee, had Kid ‘N Play beat, because one of them was 30 when the movie was shot and in no way would anybody think they would be high school students, unless they were held back many times.

Anyway, back to the film itself, part of what makes the plot work is how all of this takes place in one day. I must also add that this party also takes place during the week. When Kid’s dad mentions that the party was on “a school night,” that could only mean that they had school the next day. I think it was to add to how crazy things could get because I suppose it would be too cliché to have it on a Friday or Saturday night. Even crazier is that some characters may have to call in sick the next day or would be too tired to come in. If they were in college, that’s one thing because they could show up if they wanted to, but they were in high school. So attendance is mandatory.

I have to talk about the party itself. It’s funny to see the typical kinds of shenanigans play out, with loud music disturbing the neighbors, the numerous extras dancing, people getting drunk, broken property, etc. But really, a lot of the party is just centered on the dancing, along with the two leads engaging in a rap battle at some point and also a dance-off bit. But then you also have stuff that happen outside of the party, like Kid being harassed by the bullies and then stumbling upon another party with older and ritzy people, also taking place in the middle of the week, with George Clinton DJ-ing the party, as well. Not to mention Kid’s dad looking for him, leading to some hilarious situations.

As a matter of fact, some of the funniest bits of the film happen to be from Kid’s dad. Robin Harris was a standup comedian who passed away not long after the film’s release. He was well-known for a his act involving a story of “Bebe’s Kids.” Now I am sure at this point, some readers may be familiar with the animated film of the same name, while some may not be familiar, unless they stumbled upon it on Paramount+. Robin Harris had some of the funniest bits in the movie, especially when he comes to the party and starts roasting some of the guests there. Watching some of the scenes here, I wouldn’t doubt if any of his dialogue with improvised.

As for any other people in the film, I thought Martin Lawrence was also one of the funnier actors in this. I am not saying that none of the other people were funny, but when you have a comedian in the film (well, two comedians), I can see where some bits from that person can bring in some laughs.

Speaking of “Bebe’s Kids,” I didn’t notice this until I watched on USA in the 1990s, but one bit has these two criminals running from a dog and I realized that they were shown in “Bebe’s Kids” as well. I realized that one of the reasons was because both this and “Bebe’s Kids” were produced by the Hudlin brothers, Reginald and Warrington. I found that interesting and it’s interesting that I remembered this after decades.

This movie turned out to be quite a hit, enough that more than a year and a half later, the second film came out. If I recall, it was done by some different producers and directors. Some characters came back, except for one. I will get to that soon. But overall, after all these years, this movie still holds up. It shows some elements of the time period, which is interesting to see.

NEXT UP: House Party 2