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1990 ยท United States - Reginald Hudlin
While in their high school cafeteria, Peter, also known as "Play" (Christopher "Play" Martin) announces to his friends Christopher aka "Kid" (Reid) and Bilal (Martin Lawrence) that he will be having a party at his house that night, as his parents are on vacation. The reluctant Bilal is to be the DJ. Kid is then involved in an altercation with school bully Stab (Paul Anthony) and his two brothers Pee-Wee and Zilla (Bowlegged Lou and B-Fine). When Kid comes home, he tries to convince his father, "Pop" (Robin Harris) to let him go to the party. At first Kid's father relents, but soon grounds Kid when a note from Kid's school informs him of the fight he was in. Rather than miss the party of the year, Kid sneaks out while his sleeping father is watching Dolemite - not realizing that his father woke up just as he closed the door. On his way to the party, Kid runs into Stab and his brothers, and ducks into an Alpha Delta Sigma reunion nearby to get away from them. Crashing the reunion, Kid has the DJ (George Clinton) scratch and mix a few of his old doo wop records so that he can liven the party with a rap, until Stab and the others turn up again. When trying to get away from Stab, he winds up knocking an older man down before attempting to make a run for it. However, Kid and the bullies are caught by the neighborhood police, who humiliate the four teenagers in front of the reunion party attendees before letting them go. Before that, he jumps over a fence to get away, ending up looking in a window where a fat man is having sex with his lady, and when he is discovered, Kid runs away, and the three punks are shot at.
Comedy, Musical, Romance, Family, Drama, Horror
1990-03-09
8 Critic reviews
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
September 07, 2011 read full article
Variety
March 26, 2009 read full article
Vincent Canby
New York Times
All of the performances are good and the soundtrack pulses with humor as well as decibels.
May 20, 2003 read full article
Hal Hinson
Washington Post
House Party isn't a great movie, but it's heartfelt and enormously winning.
January 01, 2000 read full article
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
There's a lot more energy and social reality in this picture than one is accustomed to finding in teen exploitation movies; the cutting is often dynamic, and Hudlin generally does a good job of keeping things moving.
January 01, 2000 read full article
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
[It's] fast-moving, never dull, extremely funny, and manages to touch, with lighthearted (and R-rated) profundity on almost every youthful issue you can imagine, including police harassment, teenage sex, the all-too-easy road to jail and alcohol drinking.
January 01, 2000 read full article
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
House Party is silly and high-spirited and not particularly significant, and that is just as it should be.
January 01, 2000 read full article
Entertainment Weekly
March 09, 1990 read full article