House Party (1990) is a movie I recently watched again for the first time in a long time on Netflix. The storyline focuses on a group of best friends in high school that plan on throwing a house party. They will need to thwart some school bullies, parents and other challenges if they hope to throw a legendary process and attract the hunnies...

This movie is directed by Reginald Hudlin (Boomerang) and stars Christopher Reid (Class Act),Christopher Martin (Class Act),Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys),Tisha Campbell (Martin),Robin Harris (Bebe's Kids) and Clifton Powell (Rush Hour).

The soundtrack, attire, slang and circumstances in this are legendary. The cast delivers awesome performances. Martin Lawrence was hilarious in this and I also loved the guy with the bullies that had the crazy voice. The high school conversations and circumstances were fun and Robin Harris was excellent as the father. The magic of the storyline and characters creates a high rewatch value in an Animal House kind of way.

Overall this is an iconic movie that is an absolute must see. I would score this an 8/10 and strongly recommend it.

Another older movie I should've kept in the memory banks, it was so much better there. Now that I have watched it again I can't believe how wack it was. Kid n' Play cannot act and the plot was lousy. Furthermore, it wasn't a good showcase of the talents of Robin Harris, John Witherspoon, and Martin Lawrence.

The only thing good about the movie was the rap battle between Kid n Play. They weren't the best lyricists, but they did a good job in the battle scene.

1990 was the beginning of the golden era of hip hop and you could see and hear the conversion. Scratching, beatboxing, and gold chains were a thing of the past-- the beats, the chords, and the lyrics were starting to get more sophisticated. The clothes they were wearing in the movie though... those were bufugly back then. Those outfits weren't indicative of the 90's really except maybe the clothes worn by Tisha Campbell and A.J. Johnson. Kid n' Play were hot for a minute and they cashed in on their short lived success. They had a more upbeat party time brand of hip hop which caught on. Kid n' Play, like most artists in the music industry, were better at music than they were at movies.

House Party predates the iconic and memorable start of the Friday franchise five years and is also one of the many, hilarious African American Comedies out there. We don't get many of these classic, retro, 80's and 90's style black movies anymore like we used too. The latest one that crosses my mind at the moment is the recent Lottery Ticket that, judging from the film's trailer, has the style, humor, and looks of a Friday film (with Ice Cube not as Craig) and some other similarities I won't dig into at this time. Though it undoubtedly wont surpass the humor brought by Ice Cube and Chris Tucker in the 1995 Comedy, it will most likely bring cute one liners and have an essence of the feeling while being it's own thing.

Kid 'n Play and DJ Jazzy Jeff/The Fresh Prince were icons and the rap duos way back in the 80's 90's. They are the true definition of hip-hop with their amusing, yet cheesy music videos, and energetic beats combined with clever lines in their songs. We even get the memorable and respectable rap battle between Kid n' Play which is the film's ultimate turn for the best. We get some of the most fluent rhymes and a beat (composed by Martin Lawrence) to satisfy as well. It's definitely the most energetic point in the film and without the had the most thought put into it.

Kid n' Play play are themselves with a simple plot amongst them. Kid wants to go to a party held by Play, but after a run in with the school bully, his father Pops (played by the late Robin Harris, whom died nine days after the release of the film) prevents him from going and makes him remain in the house all night. Kid sneaks out and heads to Play's party in hopes of having his way with the girl, or girls, of his dreams. The one thing in the way of his dreams is the school bully and his two goons trying to make Kid sorry for his "accidental" run in in the lunch room.

It's a simple story, but to my surprise, the movie is not all about the house party as the title, cover, and storyline would suggest. It's actually a heartfelt, meaningful story about friendship, love, and doing what you think is right. When introduced to Kid we are given the misleading impression he is a "goodie-goodie" kid with nothing on his mind that would ever lead to trouble. Instead when the movie picks up we learn Kid's wild side and the antics never stop when they start.

Another thing very cool about this film are the colors. Bright, vibrant texture is put to the test here and the colorful and artistic blend work well in creating a very unique setup. Also with the classic hip-hop tracks constantly played in the movie, it's almost feels like one 100 minute musical/music video, since most videos back in the 90's had a cheesy, colorful set with energetic music and a track with sensible lyrics. Overall, House Party is definitely a party. With the all star African American cast, enjoyable songs, vibrant colors, and a retro feeling to top it off, it's the ultimate party movie, and Kid n' Play are the icing on the cake.

Starring: Christopher "Kid" Reid, Christopher "Play" Martin, Full Force, Martin Lawrence, A.J. Johnson, Tisha Campbell,, and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell.