Panelists including the director, screenwriter, editor and composer attend the Film Independent Special Screening of "The Woman King" at Harmony Gold on Dec. 15, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
So, I saw the new “House Party”film last weekend.
The feature film debut of music video director Charles “Calmatic” Kidd II, the remake of the beloved 1990 classic is…interesting. The hook: Two 20-something, struggling professional cleaners-slash-party promoters (Jacob Latimore and Tosin Cole) need to come up on some quick cash, lest their lives fall apart. After cleaning LeBron James’ Los Angeles home, they decide to throw a, well, house party there while James is out of town on a retreat.
The mere conceit of executing a celebrity-laden party in the home of the NBA’s biggest star (who produced the film with Maverick Carter) without him, the police or anyone else who matters being alerted in advance is preposterous ― but that’s probably the point. Suspension of disbelief makes the film work.
“House Party”currently sits at 32% on the film critic aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with no shortage of scathing reviews. Katie Walsh at the Los Angeles Timeswrote: “This comedically and narratively muddled take on the title (not even the original premise) is deeply unfunny and downright tiresome.” The Guardian’s Andrew Lawrence wrotein his one-star review: “James’s heart and hangups might be in the right place. But unless you’ve got nothing else going this weekend, his House Party is one to skip.”
The original film has cult classic status, and the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry last year. The remake is not as good as the original, but it’s still fun enough to not merit a one-star review. It’s perfectly serviceable entertainment, much like the original was when we watched it for the first time three decades ago. I’d defy any middle-aged Black person who appreciated the first film to find zero enjoyment in the music, the callbacks to the original or the celebrity cameos, which are so numerous I’m sure I missed a few.
At the risk of reducing Black folks to the monolith (I know we aren’t), we’ll always have a different context of cultural appreciation toward material created for us, by us, as I imagine is the case with every underrepresented minority group. I believe that’s represented in some of the non-Black (and especially white) critics blasting “House Party”with poor reviews.