We the Party
ARC Entertainment (II) | Release Date: April 6, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
7
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertApr 4, 2012
Despite its flashy cinematography and colorful sets, it contains a great deal that is serious about growing up in America today. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubAlison WillmoreApr 4, 2012
Van Peebles compensates for his stylistic clunkiness - the film overuses split screens and sometimes looks so bright, it could be a '90s sitcom - with funny, unexpected sparks of life. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineDiego SemereneMar 29, 2012
While We the Party can be insensitive, or blind, to the misogyny and homophobia of the general culture (the token gay teen is a finger-snapping, head-bobbing fashionista), it takes the issues of race and class quite seriously. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckApr 8, 2012
Despite the filmmaker's obvious good intentions in trying to impart valuable life lessons to younger viewers, We the Party suffers from any number of problems, including uneven acting (talent isn't always hereditary); stereotypical characters and situations; and a manic visual style featuring the sort of split-screen obsession that felt outdated decades ago. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerApr 5, 2012
Other Van Peebleses also populate the movie, and all are serviceable enough as actors; it would be nice to see them in less earnest, more original material. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanApr 15, 2012
It's a shame, though, that the movie also features stereotyped or retrograde attitudes towards Jewish, gay, and female characters. Perhaps Van Peebles' kids could school their dad on the virtues of across-the-board respect. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleApr 5, 2012
The naughty-yet-nurturing tone is certainly unusual, but in working so hard to be the adult who "gets" kids yet lectures them at the same time, he's ended up with a colorful but superficial mess. Read full review
40
VarietyRobert KoehlerApr 4, 2012
This South Los Angeles-set dramedy flirts with terminal stereotypes and high-school movie cliches right and left. Read full review
40
Village VoiceKarina LongworthApr 3, 2012
Van Peebles's heart is probably in the right place, but his attempt to wed his kids' generational moment to a classic coming-of-age template falters in its message-obsessed execution. Read full review
40
Time OutAndrew SchenkerApr 3, 2012
The movie spends almost as much time allowing the filmmaker, playing a progressive-minded teacher, to push his students to be better citizens by interviewing homeless people on skid row (!) as it does watching the younger generation trying to get some. It's an uneasy mixture of crude yukking and mixed-message uplift that satisfies on neither level. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithApr 6, 2012
The script suffers from blandness and aimlessness. Read full review
38
Washington PostStephanie MerryApr 5, 2012
With the raunch of "American Pie" and the heart of an after-school special, the comedy turns out to be a lot less than the sum of its parts. Read full review
More From This Movie

48 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL