Starring Christopher "Kid" Reid, Christopher "Play" Martin, Martin Lawrence, and Tisha Campbell
Directed by Doug McHenry and George Jackson
Music and Lyrics by various
House Party proved to be one of the biggest successes of 1990, vastly making up for the Kid N' Play Saturday morning cartoon running only four months. It was so popular, a follow-up was in development shortly after the original came out. It was an even bigger hit when it came out in October, cementing not only Kid N' Play's stardom, but providing a showcase for up-and-coming rappers like Queen Latifa as well. How does the story of Kid's first few weeks at college look today? Let's start with Christopher "Kid" Robinson (Reid) and his best friend Peter "Play" Martin (Martin), at church and find out...
The Story: After his father passes away, Kid manages to get a scholarship from his local church for college. His girlfriend Sidney (Campbell) is also attending, but her feminist roommate Zora (Queen Latifa) encourages her to be more independent and look for older men...or no men at all. Play's dreaming of stardom and gives Kid's scholarship money to a woman named Sheila Landreaux (Iman) who claims to be a music producer, but is really a con artist.
After she skips town with her partner Rick (Louie Louie) and leaves both high and dry, Kid takes a job in the school dining hall with the demanding Mr. Lee (Tony Burton) to earn money for his tuition. Not to mention, Sidney is now dating the dean's snooty assistant Miles (Christopher Judge), who helped Kid to get close to her. Kid finally decides he has no choice but to use Play's idea of a pajama party in the dining hall to make back the money.
The Song and Dance: In some ways, I enjoyed this one more than the first. For one thing, Kid n' Play are now playing slightly closer to their real ages. For another, the college backdrop gives the plot a little more heft to it than just a bunch of kids trying to attend a party. They (briefly) discuss real issues effecting black students in college, even today, and the importance of education. The music's even better, too, and we have appearances by supermodel Iman as the duplicitous Sheila, William Schallert as the dean who thinks he's doing his black students a favor by singling them out, and Queen Latifa early in her career as the tough senior who doesn't know as much as she thinks about men or college.
Favorite Number: We open with Kid's nightmare about his high school graduation being "Rated R." A montage of the hit "O.P.P" by Naughty By Nature takes us into college as we see Kid attempt to joke his way through his first week of school. Latifa and the chorus remind the school council that "Knowledge Is Power," and the black students have a right to learn about their history and culture in college. R&B star Ralph Trevant kicks off the party with "Yo Baby Yo." Kid N' Play get together long enough to perform and dance to their own "Frienz" and "Ain't Gonna Hurt Nobody" at the party. "Motownphilly" by Boys II Men provides the backdrop for Kid, Play, Bial, and the bullies (who are now security guards) chasing down Miles and the con artists at the party. The sorrowful ballad "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" provides the backdrop for Kid leaving college and admitting at his teacher that he wasn't able to make it.
Trivia: Speaking of Kid's father, he was written out because Robin Harris passed away several months after the release of the first film.
In real-life, Kid did graduate from college in the Bronx in 1986. Play didn't go to college in the film or in reality, but he's taught hip-hop and music studies at several schools, currently Florida A&M.
What I Don't Like: First of all, two of the highlights of the previous film were Harris' ad-libbing and the close relationship between Kid N' Play. The latter in particular is sorely missed for the first half of the film, when the two are at odds over Play giving the scholarship check to Sheila. Second, while education is especially important for black students who are often left out of it, their attempts at moralizing via Zora and Kid's professor Sinclair (Georg Stanford Brown) comes off as more preachy than well-meaning. There's also the fact that yes, some of this still hasn't dated well, from the wacky prints on those pajamas at the party to appearances by several now-barely-remembered rap & R&B stars.
The Big Finale: Same deal - if you loved the first film or other college stories about wacky frat hi-jinks, or are a huge fan of rap or R&B from the early 90's. you'll want to throw on your own pajamas and join this party.
Home Media: Easily found on streaming and on DVD, solo and bundled with the other House Party films.
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