Man is this House Party reboot a tough one to talk about! Before we get to this, we have to take a trip back to the early 90s and talk about Kid n Play. The House Party series actually started all the way back in 1990! It was based around the comedy and musical talent of the duo; Kid n Play and they were pretty huge for a few years.
How to Download House Party (2023)
You can expect the film to be available for download or stream on HBO Max sometime after its theatrical release. Click on the Download button at the end of this review to check the current availability.
The Movie Review
I have to be honest and say that out of the four original House Party movies (including the 2013 one) House Party 2 has always been my favorite. However, my favorite of all the Kid n Play movies has to be 1992’s Class Act. I even loved the animated series that aired in the early 90s. As you can tell, Kid n Play and this series were a huge part of my early teenage years.
So, when I heard that there was going to be a House Party reboot to say I was hesitant is a massive understatement. Why does Hollywood feel the need to reboot everything? Not everything needs to be rebooted, especially when it has zero to do what it is supposedly based on.
Had this movie been just released and not been called House Party, I would have liked it way more! This is a fun and silly comedy with some awesome cameos from the likes of LeBron James, Snoop Dogg, Kid Cudi, Mya, and more. Kid Cudi and Mya actually have bigger roles here than you would think. The only cameo I hated was the Kid ‘n Play one! You would have thought I would have loved this, but it just forced the fact that this should not have been called House Party to me.
The plot of the movie is about these two guys, Kevin and Damon who have dreams of becoming big-time club promoters and being in the music industry, but they currently work as cleaners. Kevin has a kid so he is a bit more grounded, but his chemistry with Damon is great and the two have fantastic banter with each other.
They end up losing their jobs, but find out the house they are currently working at belongs to LeBron James and he is out of town. They come up with the great idea of throwing an epic party in LeBron James’s house and inviting a bunch of celebrities to it! Now, things are complicated as they have rivals in this movie led by a dude called Kyle and he is trying to derail their party.
Look, this reboot of House Party is a fun time, I think the premise is solid, the cameos are great and the whole thing is as wacky and silly like the other movies. However, the need to call this House Party as silly as this sounds, makes it far less enjoyable for me. I know that sounds odd, but it feels like they are trying to skate by on name recognition.
The thing is, there is no need to at all! This could have just stood on its own and been its own thing rather than a forced reboot of a series that people have a lot of nostalgia for. Reviewing this one is tough. It legit made me laugh, I liked most of the cast and it has a cool soundtrack, but as I have said, calling this House Party and flat-out saying it is a reboot just does not sit well with me.
However, I am going to score this based on its own merit… well try to because if I was not, this would probably get like a 4/10. Which would be completely unfair! I think if you have not seen the original movies you will have a lot of fun with this if you are in the mood for a wacky comedy. If anything, for me, it made me realize just how much I loved those Kid n Play movies from the early 90s and what a huge part of my childhood they were.
