House Party
It doesn't quite hit the heights of the OG, but this party's worth a 'Yes' RSVP.
Film Yap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Of course I dug the Reginald Hudlin-directed, Kid n’Play-starring 1990 offering “House Party” when I saw it on pay cable as an impressionable youth in the early ‘90s. I was the sort of kid who had a “Boyz n the Hood” poster hanging on his bedroom wall as a 10-year-old. My folks would rent and show me Spike Lee movies because they thought he was cool and wanted me to have insight into cultures other than my own. My interest in black art began at an early age and has extended into adulthood. It’s this fascination that led me to reviewing “House Party” (2023) (now in theaters).
Kevin (Jacob Latimore) and Damon (Tosin Cole) are a pair of house-cleaning buddies with grander aspirations. Kevin wants to make his living making beats so he can send his daughter to a private pre-school and retain joint custody. Damon has his sights set on being Los Angeles’ premier party promoter and making time with R&B songstress Mýa (playing herself).
The fellas’ fortunes take a turn for the worse when they’re fired from their house-cleaning gig for goofing off and smoking out, but Damon sees a silver lining in their situation. Their last assignment is at a palatial mansion belonging to one Mr. LeBron James (who produced the picture and appears as himself), who just so happens to be at a spiritual enlightenment retreat in India for the next two weeks. At Damon’s behest the duo decides to throw a bash at King James’ crib. With the exorbitant entrance fee they’ll be charging, Kevin will be able to send his daughter to pre-school … unless of course the party’s busted up by rival promoter Kyle (Allen Maldonado) and his lackeys (Melvin Gregg and Rotimi) – filling the requisite rival bully roles fulfilled by rap group Full Force in the OG “House Party” flicks.
“House Party” is the feature debut of music video director Calmatic and was penned by “Atlanta” scribes Stephen Glover (brother of Donald) and Jamal Olori. The movie has a reverence for its 1990 predecessor (The Funky Charleston is trotted out, Christopher “Kid” Reid and Christopher “Play” Martin cameo, Reginald and Warrington Hudlin executive produced) while still very much being its own thing … it gets surprisingly, trippily violent in the late goings.
“House Party” isn’t as stylish as I expected it to be given Calmatic’s pedigree, but it’s an entertaining-enough watch. Latimore and Cole are more accomplished actors than Reid and Martin. Cole especially cuts a particularly sympathetic figure. It’s easy to surmise Damon loves Kevin’s daughter almost as much as he does through Cole’s performance and Glover and Olori’s writing.
“House Party” doesn’t quite hit the heights of the original, but it’s markedly better than the onslaught of sequels both theatrical and direct-to-video. It’s a party worth RSVP’ing ‘Yes’ to especially if you’re a fan of the OG “House Party” or of James’.