House Party (1990)

Who doesn't love a movie focused on a party?? :) Well when they're done right at least....Animal House, Bachelor Party....and thirty-five years ago, director Reginald Hudlin (Boomerang) made his debut with one of the better ones.  It also starred a hip-hop duo no less, Kid & Play - Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin co-star as two high school friends who just want to rap, dance, and meet girls.  And that pretty much comprises the story of the movie......they just want to have fun along  the two young ladies they have their eyes on, Sydney (Tisha Campbell) and Sharane (AJ Johnson).  The cast also features several comedy legends including Martin Lawrence, John Witherspoon, and the late, great Robin Harris.  Also featuring great music from Full Force....who also co-star as the main villains!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

HOUSE PARTY – 1990

Directed by Reginald Hudlin

Starring Christopher Reid, Christopher Martin, Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, A.J. Johnson, Paul Anthony, Kelly Jo Minter, George Clinton, John Witherspoon, Lucien “Bowlegged Lou” George Jr, Brian “B-Fine” George, Edith Fields, Clifton Powell, Edith Fields, Clifton Powell, Verda Bridges, Lou B. Washington, Barry Diamond, Gene “Groove” Allen, and Robin Harris

Genre: Party Comedy

Props to "The Midnight Boys" podcast and a recent special movie draft of theirs for reminding me about this film....and just how obsessively I watched it again and again as a teenager. 😆 Not that I could completely relate as I didn't have anything close to the dance moves of Kid (Christopher Reid) nor the game with the ladies like Play (Christopher Martin) nor even the DJ skills of Bilal (Martin Lawrence)....though I could at LEAST be counted on to keep my breath nice unlike the latter. ;) (Dude....Bianca was EVERYWHERE in the early '90's) But I could quote pretty much all of the nuttiest dialogue....

"Now why would you call his mother a garden tool?"

"I don't give a damn if Marvin Gaye gonna be there, YOU won't!" 

"Girl, you're so soft....like my hush-puppies...you're so warm and fluffy....like a butter-milk BIS-cuit..." 

It's got relatable characters, good music, GREAT dancing, fun villains, and loads of hijinks. Speaking of which, even bit players like Groove (Gene Allen who sadly just passed away a few days ago - RIP) leave a mark with some pretty memorable physical comedy as the most overdressed yet also THE most inebriated guest at the party. Watching this dude stumbling to keep up with the Running Man moves of our two leads is pretty priceless! And that 

As the roving villains, the guys from Full Force (Paul Anthony, Bowlegged Lou, B-Fine) were of course pulling off double-duty among the cast too....no OF COURSE these dudes looked way too big to be high-schoolers and they were each at least thirty at the time! 

But like everyone else on the call sheet, they were just cast so well....among a STACKED group of already proven comedians including Lawrence (only his second film role after debuting the previous year in Do The Right Thing) who steals every one of his scenes, John Witherspoon, Barry Diamond (who actually DID co-star in Bachelor Party six years prior), and of course the late, great Robin Harris playing Pop, Kid's father. Harris is pretty much just growling most of his lines and obviously incorporating some of his stand-up into his dialogue, yet still brings some necessary heart and warmth to the story. 

Beyond Harris, the two others who stand out the most among the cast are Reid playing Kid (also his stage name at the time) and the always winning Tisha Campbell playing the lovely Sidney with whom he forms a...complicated...romance with, hey they're supposed to be teenagers right? 🤫 It's awkward and funny and even kind of sweet to see them together. Campbell would go on to have a pretty accomplished acting career after this but I always wondered what happened to Chris Reid who definitely had some charisma and acting chops...maybe his hair pigeonholed him? 🤔

Regardless of where everyone would eventually end up, this cast of players would just remain lightning-in-a-bottle (and certainly FAR superior to the sequels) to contribute to one of the more underrated comedies of the '90's.

Best Needle-drop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Of course there is THAT dance which occurs about 45 minutes into the film....the ICONIC kick-step move which Kid and Play perform so effortlessly in the film's signature sequence while dancing against Sydney and Sharane.  I'm sure I can count myself among scores of young men (or boys) who tried to pull it off and just fell on their ass as a result. (Audio clip) 

Each of the four players just have FANTASTIC moves during this sequence, not the least of whom is Ms. Tisha Campbell playing Sidney who….by this point in 1990 already had formed a solid career as a musical performer (song AND dance) in some memorable stuff which I grew up on….including the cult TV show music which ONLY lasted one season, “Rags to Riches” and also appearing as one of the main dancers in the first movie musical which I EVER saw in theaters, Little Shop of Horrors. (Audio clip) 

🫣 But yes, back to the House Party dance sequence….this kicking song which we hear over all of this?  Just an all-around fun fast-paced number which comes to us courtesy of Brooklyn, NY’s OWN hip-hop & R&B collective – Paul Anthony, Lucien “Bowlegged Lou” George Jr, and Brian “B-Fine” George…I’m of course once again referring to  FULL FORCE and this is their 1989 single,"Ain't My Type Of Hype." (Audio clip) 

This just remains one of my ALL-TIME favorite movie musical dance sequences….right up there with Travolta’s solo number in previous episode Saturday Night Fever, the sexy “Take Off With Us” number from previous episode All That Jazz….and likely the climactic number from Breakin.  Hey these are MY tastes, whatdyawant?  Oh and the fun capper for this sequence is Martin Lawrence’s Bilal attempting to DJ… (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Overall this also holds up as a very promising directorial debut for Reginald Hudlin who just bring a ton of confidence and looseness to the proceedings - his camera is always right where it needs to be, he gets the most out of his cast, and the film never wears out its welcome.  It has me wondering as to WHY he hasn’t had a bigger career since then.  Just a couple of years later, Hudlin would return to direct what would likely remain his BIGGEST film….the glossy, star-studded romantic comedy BOOMERANG starring Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry.  However SINCE then?  Well I know that Hudlin lobbied hard with star Wesley Snipes to develop a film adaptation of the Marvel Comic Black Panther throughout the ‘90’s….never happened but we DO know what eventually DID happen, certainly an all-timer.  After that, he has since gone on to direct the occasional feature film (Marshall....Serving Sara?? 🙄) but has done mainly a lot of notable TV since then including New Girl, The Office, The Bernie Mac Show, and Modern Family.  It’s not an unusual story for a filmmaker to break out during the ‘90’s with a notable big-screen debut….only to eventually get swallowed up by TV and streaming,.,..hey he’s had steady work so who’s complaining? 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

So when it comes to stand-out scene, what could POSSIBLY top even a top-flight dance sequence?  Well it’s clear early on that our main man Kid has been working on lyrics as we see him scribbling after finishing his homework…..we see him TRY to DJ and kick off a free-style rap at that suburban lawn party which he crashes early on the evening…..so yeah, I’m guessing that the young man aspires to be a rapper.  But he just needs a moment to shine….well what better venue than the PARTY at his friend Play’s house…of course, Play DOES have homefield advantage. (Audio clip) 

Of course this HAS to escalate to an old-fashioned RAP BATTLE – UH-OH!  Between friends no less….yes the titular Kid and Play have at it….and Play does get some early hits no less, but both are STRONG out the gate. Still one nice early dig from Play….(Audio clip)

It’s an infectious scene and both of them are truly having fun….with fun reactions from the crowd who are dancing all around them….it escalates but never to a particularly nasty place and in the end Kid triumphs by a HAIR.  Of course, DJ Bilal has to add his two cents at the end….UGH but just a BLAST of a sequence overall.  My personal FAVORITE on-screen rap-battle….yes even better than the one which closes out 8Mile.  I know….controversial take….but I’m ALSO much more than hair and a smile. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

You know this doesn’t occur very often but in the process of putting together this review, an obvious candidate emerged which I was not originally expecting.  I have to say that even though it’s Kid AND Play above the title, this is more Kid’s movie – he’s is roughly 70% of the scenes, it’s his first REAL acting role, and he pretty much pulls over everything the script calls for.  It’s not a GREAT performance but it always feels like a natural one and when you throw in his obvious chops for both performing AND dancing, you realize that the overall film might have just fallen apart if not for having him at the center of it….therefore it becomes a no-brainer, Christopher Reid is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Overall Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

I would honestly stack this 1990 cult hit up against ANY other party movie in the pantheon from Bachelor Party to Can't Hardly Wait to Project X...to even Animal House. 😜 Happy 35th to the BEST Party Movie and one of the more underrated comedies of the 1990’s! 

Streaming on Apple TV Plus

And that ends another ALWAYS AND FOREVER review!