House Party

A reboot and remake of sorts of the 1990 film of the same name, House Party follows aspiring club promoters Kevin (Jacob Latimore) and Damon (Tosin Cole), who find themselves fired from their day jobs as cleaners and removed from an upcoming promotion gig. Out of options and strapped for cash, the duo hit upon a big idea when they realise their last cleaning job is at a lavish mansion belonging to LeBron James (LeBron James himself). While the basketball player is away on a meditation retreat, the two host a party for LeBron’s celebrity contacts, hoping to earn enough money to get Kevin’s daughter Destiny into preschool. Of course, hijinks ensue, and Kevin and Damon’s friendship is tested as they struggle to see the party through to the end.

House Party suffers from several issues, but chief among them has to be that it isn’t funny. It knows what jokes are in theory, and several times comes close to telling one, but none of its attempts at humour land. The film’s goofs often rely on swearing in place of any setups or punchlines, and there’s such a constant barrage of attempted comedy that no single bit gets the time or space to be funny. There are brief glimpses of interesting bits when House Party allows itself to follow an idea through and indulge in an absurd sustained gag or over-the-top set piece, but even those nuggets of creativity get smothered by the movie’s pacing.

House Party also suffers from a very weak story, which wouldn’t have been as much of an issue if the comedy was solid, but is tragically exacerbated by the distinct lack of laughs. Every character is one-note, with arcs that start and end abruptly – much like the jokes, the character moments don’t get enough time or space to swing with their full weight. The flick spends most of its time focusing on celebrity cameos, presumably in the hope that its audience recognising someone from something will distract them from the feature’s flaws, but even its considerable star power isn’t enough to compensate for a deficit in anything compelling.

House Party is a hangover of a film, with dull scripting and no comedic chops to speak of whatsoever. A very patient audience could maybe get something out of the celebrity appearances, but for the most part, this is one party that should not be RSVP’d to.

Umar Ali

House Party is released nationwide on 30^th January 2023.

Watch the trailer for House Party here: