New 4K Restoration
Hip-hop duo Kid ’n Play bring their '90s star power to the big screen as aspiring high-school MCs preparing to throw the biggest, baddest, and freshest party of the year.
When Kid’s father (Robin Harris) forbids him from attending Play’s (Christopher Martin) party, Kid (Christopher Reid) sneaks out anyway, kicking off a wild night full of dance-offs and rap battles, run-ins with bullies and cops, and a bit of romance. With an ensemble cast that also includes Tisha Campbell, AJ Johnson, Martin Lawrence, Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, and members of the music group Full Force, plus a stellar soundtrack, House Party is a beloved, feel-good snapshot of early-1990s hip-hop culture that brought Black teenage experience to the mainstream. The breakthrough feature debut by writer-director Reginald Hudlin, House Party debuted to critical acclaim at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival. While some of its comedy certainly has not aged well, House Party's soundtrack remains as fresh as the day it dropped. [100 min; comedy, music; English]
"To discover House Party is to feel an electric jolt of pure joy. What radiates from the cast and the production is happiness—a kind of chemistry that can’t be quantified but is unmistakable on screen." — Leo Brady, AMovieGuy.com
"[It's] fast-moving, never dull, extremely funny, and manages to touch, with lighthearted (and R-rated) profundity on almost every youthful issue you can imagine, including police harassment, teenage sex, the all-too-easy road to jail and alcohol drinking." — Desson Thomson, Washington Post
"There are elements here that are best left in the ’90s, but its joyful, nuanced portrait of Black teenage experience has aged quite nicely." — Derek Smith
Any film screened at IU Cinema may contain content that viewers find sensitive or upsetting. Visit our Audience Advisories page to learn more.
