{"id":32830,"date":"2020-03-11T19:56:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T23:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=32830"},"modified":"2020-03-11T19:58:41","modified_gmt":"2020-03-11T23:58:41","slug":"celebrating-house-party-thirty-years-old-and-still-a-bash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/11\/celebrating-house-party-thirty-years-old-and-still-a-bash\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating \u201cHouse Party\u201d: Thirty Years Old, and Still a Bash"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>For a movie that\u2019s almost as old as I am and features many a flat tops and pastel vests, \u201cHouse Party\u201d is a movie that\u2019s barely aged. In fact, it\u2019s a movie that so many studios have tried to duplicate but never quite have captured the same magic and enthusiasm. There\u2019s just something about \u201cHouse Party\u201d that\u2019s kept it a vessel of pop culture, hip hop, and comedy that was shifting from the eighties and in to the nineties. Not even the sequels lived up to what is basically the perfect party movie when all is said and done. The movie advertises itself in the title, but while the movie is centered almost completely on a party, it\u2019s also a pretty excellent coming of age comedy.<\/p>\n

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Admittedly I have a long sentimental history with \u201cHouse Party,\u201d as I discovered it on network television (WPIX Channel 11, baby) when I was eight years old and fell in love with it from the starting gate. Even edited of its heavy language and brief sex scene, \u201cHouse Party\u201d is a raucous, funny, and exciting celebration of youth that also showcases some excellent hip hop. The titular House Party is pretty much like the bash at the Delta Chi house in \u201cAnimal House,\u201d except it\u2019s stretched in to ninety minutes. Surprisingly it works, because director-writer Reginald Hudlin doesn\u2019t make the party the character, but more a frame work for a lot of the hilarious antics, and sub-plots that hover through some fantastic hip hop music.<\/p>\n

Christopher “Kid” Reid and Christopher “Play” Martin were propped up as the big rap duo for the nineties, and \u201cHouse Party\u201d is basically their launching pad, allowing audiences to grab a clear cut look at their ability to drop a beat, spit fire, and dance with a friendly rivalry that adds a bit of tension through the narrative. While Kid and Play were mainly hip hop stars, they\u2019re also pretty good actors who manage to play versions of themselves consistently struggling to stay out of trouble.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>When Kid is caught in a fight during lunch with the school bully Stab and his friends (hip hop group \u201cFull Force\u201d), Kid\u2019s dad \u201cPop\u201d (the late Robin Harris) refuses to allow him to attend the big party by his friend Play. Although he\u2019s stuck at home, he sneaks out trying to make it to the party on time, all the while \u201cPop\u201d goes in search of him intending to bring him back home. On the way there, Kid runs in to Stab and his friends, a pair of relentless police, and occasional neighborhood obstacles. Meanwhile, Play is trying to get his party together with the help of his friend and DJ Bilal, and is anticipating the arrival of Sharane and Sydney, two classmates that Kid and Play are trying to score dates with.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Underwood is able to build on what could have been a paper thin narrative and creates a wild and hysterical movie that knows how to balance the comedy and mild drama. \u201cHouse Party\u201d garners immense replay value thanks to the near infinitely quotable script, and some incredible choreography. Underwood directs the dance sequences brilliantly, even staging probably one of the best dance sequences put to film.<\/p>\n