HOUSE PARTY (1990) - Criterion

House Party
Criterion

Original Release Date March 9th, 1990
Written by Reginald Hudlin
Directed by Reginald Hudlin
Starring Christopher Reid, Christopher Martin, Robin Harris, Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell
Language English (subtitles available)

Purchase your copy from Criterion HERE

by "Doc" Hunter Bush
MovieJawn Podcast Director & Staff Writer, cohost of the Hate Watch / Great Watch Podcast

The Movie: Excellent

Kid (Christopher Reid) just wants to go to the titular House Party at his friend Play (Christopher Martin)'s house, but he's got a few problems: it's a school night, there are bullies on the lookout for him, and his dad (Robin Harris) just received notice from Kid's school that he was involved in an altercation with the bullies earlier that day. Is that going to stop him? Nah. But once at the party, he's got new troubles: Will anybody dance with him? Can he get with one of the girls he likes? Can he even pick one? And, will he get to perform for everybody?

A huge part of the appeal of this film is the cast. Kid 'n Play are a blast, and Robin Harris is a charming curmudgeon as Kid's dad. Tisha Campbell and A.J. Johnson as Sidney and Sharane are just impeccably cool girls who give Kid 'n Play a run for their money on the dance floor; the assortment of buddies are all fun, including Daryl Mitchell and Martin Lawrence; even the bullies played by Paul Anthony, Bowlegged Lou, and B-Fine (all members of the hip hop / R&B group Full Force) are heightened, silly brutes. In one of the bonus features, a cast reunion, they recall how open writer / director Reginald Hudlin was to letting them rewrite their characters and make them unique. It shows, as does the genuine love they all still have for each other, and both pay off hugely for the film.

House Party started as Reginald Hudlin's college thesis short film (which is included in the bonus features of the disc) and eventually drew the attention of New Line Cinema, who had noticed that a large portion of their horror film audiences were black youths, and decided: why not market something specifically for that audience? The resulting film is surprisingly gentle, whimsical, and largely good-hearted, while not ignoring the concerns of black teens (and larger issues overall). Kid and Play, as well as the extended cast, are incredibly likeable and harken back to the teen films that inspired Hudlin in the first place.

Like those films, there's a certain lightness to House Party. Robin Harris plays Kid's dad as stern, but not abusive. The bullies beat on Kid at school, but he dusts himself off and has no lingering signs of the fight. Even the patrol cops who repeatedly bust Kid (and others) for offenses as wide-ranging as crashing a garden party (DJed by George Clinton!) to walking while black are dealt with as pests and not symptoms of crushing systemic racism. It doesn't ignore any of these things, it just chooses to address them with its finger on the scale to preserve the tone. House Party also contains, I think, my favorite dance-off in all of cinema? It just comes up so organically and is so thoroughly entertaining that it never fails to put a smile on my face.

Beyond just being a very fun watch and filled with energy, creativity, and whimsy, House Party takes the teen comedies of the 1980s and filters them through the rise of hip-hop into an unquestionable facet of popular culture at large. Obviously, teen comedies persisted, but very few since have managed to capture the innocence of that '80s heyday. Similarly hip-hop would shift focus to gangsta rap with, again, less examples of more lighthearted "party rap" breaking into the public consciousness in the same way. House Party truly captures this brief but important cultural turning point, while also functioning as a farewell to the teen films it was based on. A true time capsule that deserves to be experienced, perhaps for the first time.

The Packaging: Excellent

This is such a solidly designed release! From the color palette, to the slight reworking of the original House Party logo, The Criterion packaging perfectly captures the fun that runs throughout the film.  There was a trend of really brightly colored clothing that came from the late '80s and ran through the early '90s that's occasionally misidentified as "Hypercolor" (which was actually a line of color changing clothing that reacted to heat, but I digress) and the palette of vibrant yellow, plastic red, powder blue and a deep, soft violet calls back to that while avoiding becoming a neon eyesore. There's a vitality to it that's just eye-catching.

The cover art, a recreation of Kid 'n Play doing their Kickstep dance during the dance-of sequence, painted by Gabe Tiberino is recognizable but impressionistic enough to stay visually interesting to look at. My personal favorite detail is that the booklet, which includes a fantastic essay by Michael Harriot, even unfolds in the accordion style of audio cassette inserts of the era.

The Audio + Video: Excellent

This is a fantastic transfer. The most impressive thing for me was the color balance. There are a lot of very vibrant colors in this movie, and in the clothes from this era, and managing to make them all pop without any specific one dominating is really impressive. The film grain is still present, but it's barely noticeable, let alone distracting, even in the exterior night shots. I love the look and the feel of film grain. There is a tangible quality that really appeals to me, especially when the film is from or set in an earlier era. I know folks get knocked quite a bit for talking about the "warmth" of vinyl records or cassette tapes, but there is just something to the added texture that mild tape hiss adds that completely changes the energy of a piece of music. Film grain is like that.

One last quick visual aside: While I was watching one of the early scenes, I noticed that Kid has two white-furred monster or werewolf masks on the top of his bookshelf and now I’m obsessed with that detail. If it wasn’t for this visual upgrade, I might not have even noticed! 

But speaking of music; the audio mix here was excellent overall. I have a three-channel soundbar and overall I had no issues. I'm usually most critical of having to ride the volume knob for a film; the act of seesawing from quiet dialogue to loud sound effects or score is not only a repeat frustration, but fully takes me out of the film. Because of the way the film is structured, I did have to make a few adjustments. The dialogue in the early scenes at Kid's house was just a hair too quiet after the opening dream sequence which is all sound effects and score. But after a few minor adjustments, I pretty quickly found a perfect balance.

Special Features: Excellent

For a relatively short list of bonus features, these are incredibly informative! The Actor's Reunion feature, which I mentioned above, is really heartwarming, showcasing the genuine affection they all have for each other even after all this time. I was genuinely amazed at just how much of the feature film's DNA was included in the original short film, from scenes and story beats down to specific lines of dialogue. The trailer itself is actually great because, though it's advertising a movie called House Party, it really doesn't reveal too much of the party! It also was a nice contrast by which to appreciate the restoration. You can really see how faded the film looks in an unrestored state.

But my favorite feature is the interview between film professor Racquel Gates, writer / director Reginald Hudlin and his co-producer brother Warrington. It's insightful not only into the genesis of the idea, and into how the short film led to the feature, but it also addresses the film's one stumbling point for me. There are some instances of casual homophobia thrown around, which, as with the same thing in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), I always forget is in there. And listen, I understand that it was a different time, but it's still, in both cases, a blemish on an otherwise wonderfully bright and lighthearted film. Here, Reginald Hudlin explains that the inclusion of these terms was purely from mild ignorance, and not intended to be hurtful in any way. It is, to be fair, how kids talked then, as well as now unfortunately, but it's still encouraging to see a filmmaker asked directly and to respond with conviction and empathy.

• "House Party": Storytelling from the Inside Out (31:53)
• Actors Reunion (37:57)
• Reginald Hudlin's Student Film (20:48)
• Trailer (1:27)

In Summary: Must Own

I have a fondness for House Party that I wasn't consciously aware of beyond the vague concept of it being a movie I love, which when you've watched as many films as I have, is a pretty broad category. But upon rewatching it for this review, I was hit with the most powerful nostalgia. This is what the early '90s was, for me. Not the high school drama, parties, bullies, and girls; that was a few years off yet, but the style, the music, and the vibe of it. It's also, divorced from that nostalgic filter, just a very delightful movie. 

It's not perfect ("who among us", y'know?) but it comes very close, and does so with a sense of genuine fun that's hard to top. I know that reviewers who use "fun" as a positive often get quite a bit of flack, but I challenge you to NOT have fun watching House Party. Yes, it has deeper cultural relevance, and addresses important aspects of black culture, but it is also unmistakably just plain fun. And fun is good, I recommend you try to have as much of it as you can. Criterion's House Party release is a great starting point.