House Party
1.5/4
Starring: Christopher Reid, Christopher Martin, Martin Laurence, Tisha Campbell-Martin, A.J. Johnson, Paul Anthony, Robin Harris
Rated R (probably for Language and Sexual Humor)
Genre flicks carry the weight of expectations of the audience. For example, a slasher film is, almost by definition, full of blood, gore and gratuitous sex and nudity. An audience member for a slasher movie demands them, and no good entry would even think to skip out on them. Which brings us to "House Party." By definition, it should contain as much off-color humor, raunchiness and general insanity as the running time will allow. So when I tell you that the bawdiest element of this movie is a clogged toilet, you'll understand why I felt cheated.
Play (Martin) is going to be alone tonight as his parents are out of town. What's a high schooler to do? Throw a party, of course. Everyone is showing up, come hell or high water. His best friend Kid (Reid) is sneaking out of the house since he was grounded by his Pop (Harris) for being in a fight (which was really nothing of the kind). His friend Bilal (Lawrence), whom people call "Dragon Breath" behind his back, is being the DJ. Also coming are the school hotties, the conscientious Sidney (Campbell-Martin) and the maneating Sharane (Johnson). It's going to be one wild ride.
Or so I thought. Maybe it's because it was made nearly 30 years ago, but "House Party" is far too vanilla for its own good. Apart from a healthy dose of profanity, most of what goes on in this movie could have happened in an episode of "I Love Lucy." Or even "Leave it to Beaver." It tries so hard to be light and likable that it completely misses the point. I get that it's supposed to be light and silly, and that's fine. It's just that the jokes are so toothless that they lose any opportunity to make us laugh, while others miss the mark so far that I was wondering if the filmmakers were actually trying to make a joke.
The rap duo Kid n' Play headline the film, and while I have no doubts about their success as rappers based on the evidence in the movie, their success as actors is mixed. Christopher Martin tends to blend into the background, but his co-star Christopher Reid brings a sort of dorky earnestness that's kind of adorable. Kid is hapless and always in trouble, but he's smarter and has a bigger heart than anyone gives him credit for. That's what attracts him to Sidney. Their one scene together is the best the movie has to offer.
"House Party" manages to land a successful joke every now and then, but they provoke a half-hearted chuckle rather than a full bellied laugh (either from bad timing or simply because they're just not that funny). And the house party has a lot of energy. I also confess a strange affection for the strong 80's vibe with all the hairspray, loud colors and gaudy clothes (no one apparently knows the meaning of subtlety). Why I have an affection for the 80s, I don't know, since by the time the decade closed I was still using a pacifier. Go figure.
The long and short of it is that while "House Party" is light and silly, it's also empty and toothless. Perhaps I've been spoiled by movies like "The Hangover" and "Old School." C'est la vie.
Starring: Christopher Reid, Christopher Martin, Martin Laurence, Tisha Campbell-Martin, A.J. Johnson, Paul Anthony, Robin Harris
Rated R (probably for Language and Sexual Humor)
Genre flicks carry the weight of expectations of the audience. For example, a slasher film is, almost by definition, full of blood, gore and gratuitous sex and nudity. An audience member for a slasher movie demands them, and no good entry would even think to skip out on them. Which brings us to "House Party." By definition, it should contain as much off-color humor, raunchiness and general insanity as the running time will allow. So when I tell you that the bawdiest element of this movie is a clogged toilet, you'll understand why I felt cheated.
Play (Martin) is going to be alone tonight as his parents are out of town. What's a high schooler to do? Throw a party, of course. Everyone is showing up, come hell or high water. His best friend Kid (Reid) is sneaking out of the house since he was grounded by his Pop (Harris) for being in a fight (which was really nothing of the kind). His friend Bilal (Lawrence), whom people call "Dragon Breath" behind his back, is being the DJ. Also coming are the school hotties, the conscientious Sidney (Campbell-Martin) and the maneating Sharane (Johnson). It's going to be one wild ride.
Or so I thought. Maybe it's because it was made nearly 30 years ago, but "House Party" is far too vanilla for its own good. Apart from a healthy dose of profanity, most of what goes on in this movie could have happened in an episode of "I Love Lucy." Or even "Leave it to Beaver." It tries so hard to be light and likable that it completely misses the point. I get that it's supposed to be light and silly, and that's fine. It's just that the jokes are so toothless that they lose any opportunity to make us laugh, while others miss the mark so far that I was wondering if the filmmakers were actually trying to make a joke.
The rap duo Kid n' Play headline the film, and while I have no doubts about their success as rappers based on the evidence in the movie, their success as actors is mixed. Christopher Martin tends to blend into the background, but his co-star Christopher Reid brings a sort of dorky earnestness that's kind of adorable. Kid is hapless and always in trouble, but he's smarter and has a bigger heart than anyone gives him credit for. That's what attracts him to Sidney. Their one scene together is the best the movie has to offer.
"House Party" manages to land a successful joke every now and then, but they provoke a half-hearted chuckle rather than a full bellied laugh (either from bad timing or simply because they're just not that funny). And the house party has a lot of energy. I also confess a strange affection for the strong 80's vibe with all the hairspray, loud colors and gaudy clothes (no one apparently knows the meaning of subtlety). Why I have an affection for the 80s, I don't know, since by the time the decade closed I was still using a pacifier. Go figure.
The long and short of it is that while "House Party" is light and silly, it's also empty and toothless. Perhaps I've been spoiled by movies like "The Hangover" and "Old School." C'est la vie.
Comments
Post a Comment