House Party

With House Party, the Hudlins have made a happy, harmless romp of a movie that, in its own minor way, manages to make a contribution to black cinema. There is a measure of social equality in the mere fact that black teens get stupid movies made about them, too. [9 Mar 1990, p.E6]

Catchy and unobtrusively assured, it's both hip and innocent, stylized and natural, charming its way through a conventional hey-kids-let's-have-a-party plot with bright comedy, great dancing, and on-top-of-it rap. It even manages to send a few messages about responsibility without being boring. In short, it's the best teen genre movie in ages. [23 Mar 1990, p.43]

House Party captures contemporary black teen culture in a way that’s fresh, commercial and very catchy. Read full review

House Party isn't a great movie, but it's heartfelt and enormously winning. In its own modest, ramshackle way, it manages to seem innocent even when it's profane. And maybe a party that demonstrates that those two qualities aren't necessarily opposed is exactly the kind we need. Read full review

The movie is slick and cartoonish but also extremely clever, and its unabashed conventionality is exactly what’s fun about it. Read full review

This movie has a rhythm. It's exaggerated, loud and consciously vulgar, but the breezy self-assurance carries it along. Read full review

Unlike most teen-age movies, which attempt to impose some kind of adult order and significance on the events they recall, House Party has the light touch, rude wit and immediacy of rap as improvised by someone in top form. Read full review

Most of the time the film slides along on funky music, lively dance and snappy street-style dialogue. Other teen comedies feature more hair-raising plots and spectacular stunts; other teen comedies are far more sexually explicit. House Party has a wistful, almost naive, air that runs counter to the broad-based perception of young blacks as hardened and hopeless, one step away from doing hard time. [9 Mar 1990, p.6]

Not only is House Party breezy fun, but its dialogue often sounds as authentic to its black-teen setting as The Breakfast Club did to its white-teen one. And authentic or not, much of it is funny. [27 April 1990, p.4]

Because of its patently commercial instincts, this is basically a black knock-off of a popular genre. Yet, despite those instincts, and despite the sophomoric moralizing, the movie has zest. The edges are sharp; it holds our attention by holding on to the vestiges of its unique black perspective. In that sense, House Party doesn't so much sell out as buy in - there are worse faults. [11 May 1990]

It is full of the farcical, irresponsible, sometimes outrageous things kids can do -- especially in a raunchy comedy. At the same time, House Party is an uncompromising, un-footnoted slice of black American life. In a way it is like "The Godfather," so immersed in the ethnic world it depicts that it is almost a foreign film. [23 Mar 1990, p.R11]

House Party is silly and high-spirited and not particularly significant, and that is just as it should be. Read full review

Obviously, House Party isn't on Spike Lee's level -- this is fluffy stuff -- but don't let your mind wander too far off. There are still some good things to be heard. [9 Mar 1990, p.G11]

House Party aims for the mainstream and hits it- perhaps too often. Read full review

House Party has enough youthful exuberance to shake the rafters. Too bad it has enough plot to fill only a closet. [8 Mar 1990, p.4D]