House Party 3 (1994)

Kid 'n Play return to the raucous hip-hop comedy series, but this time Kid's engaged. Play is determined to make him go out kickin', and plans the most outrageous, out of bounds, out of control bachelor party ever to hit the hood!

Stinky man, my name's Stinky.

If you were to ask me how many ways this film transformed into a disaster, I do not believe I would have enough fingers and toes to fully count the ways. From the dreamy beginning of this bland final chapter, until the ending cliché moments, there were probably a million different themes and elements that were utterly pathetic. In fact, I believe that this may be the first film that I have watched which had no redeeming values surrounding it. For any of you that have watched, like myself, the House Party trilogy, there is a level of expectation that follows these films. The first movie set the groundwork. Kid & Play need to get to a party and express themselves lyrically. The sequel finished the shabby generic walls of the house by repeating a similar diagram, while the third film was the demolition team to tear it down. Everything set up from the beginning of this series was destroyed, demolished, decayed, disemboweled by the time that the third installment arrived. We were missing key characters, Kid & Play seemed less excited by this film, and apparently continuity from the second film was not a top priority for director Eric Meza. This film is nothing but trash left in the house for too long. House Party 3 smells, it is attracting too many flies, and mold is the only form of life willing to adapt to it. Sad to see the potentials of a trilogy die because the final film didn't pay respect to its beginnings.

I would like to say that the acting was to blame for such a disappointing ending, but that means I would have to admit to there actually being acting in this film. That is something I am not willing to acknowledge at this time. As our story developed, you could easily see the relief behind Kid & Play's eyes knowing that this was going to be their final jaunt in the House Party line. In fact, you could see the excitement melt away from their characters as the film progressed. It was a headache to watch. Kid was not his typical expression-esque self, but instead, older and more tired? Play was just annoying in this film. Meza decided to completely disregard their passions in the first two films and make them managers instead of performers in this final one. This is what hurt the most, to witness two characters that we have seen grow over time from young idealistic teens ready to lyrically express themselves and go to parties, to old, tired, and boring actors caring less about the music, more about the money, and have the lamest parties imaginable. I thought I would never find myself saying this, but I missed "Pops" from the original. I didn't miss him in the second film, but now seeing this final chapter I missed some of the old faces. This may be the only time you hear me say this, but I missed Martin Lawrence. While I hated his character in the first two films, he was an element missing House Party 3. They tried to cover this by employing Bernie Mac as the annoying Uncle, but it just didn't seem to work. Screaming is not a substitute for acting. Chris Tucker makes a small cameo, and honestly, I could have used more of him. He was a shining bit of light in this dark, damp, disgusting film.

As you read this review, you may find yourself saying, "Andy, you hated the other two films, what made you think this would be any different?" I don't think I was hoping for Oscar nominations, but I did want a strong finale to this trilogy. I worked my way through it, I felt I deserved it. I wanted to see familiar faces, as much as I hated them, I wanted to see a familiar plot (however generic and repetitive it was to be), and I wanted to see a union between two familiar characters, instead of throwing in a random stranger at the end. I feel as if these are very reasonable requests considering nothing lead me to believe this film would end up to be the tragedy it was. After watching this film, no matter how bad it was going to be, I wanted to be able to flip through the channels on TV and see House Party on TBS and find myself reminiscing of the future that I knew. Now, that is never going to happen. If there is one trilogy that I want to put behind me, it is the House Party films. For nearly an hour and a half, we watch unmotivated characters force themselves through cliché urban hip-hop cinema motions. Where were the bad guys? Where were the familiarities of the original films? I hated the first films, but I detested House Party 3. Why bother building a fan base if you are just going to tear it down with the finale. It is somewhat like changing characters midway through a television series. It just doesn't work, and it didn't work in this film.

Overall, this movie was a disaster. While the other two films were never much to write home about, I did want a conclusion. I wanted to finish this series without worrying that there may be more coming around the bend. That was, before I noticed House Party 4 as another sequel. This series should have ended after the first one. House Party is a classic example of what happens when Hollywood notices that small budget films can continue to make money even after they loose their appeal. Take a look at Scary Movie 4 being released soon. Honestly, is it necessary? I do not suggest this film or this entire series. The first one, if you are forced to watch, than watch. Otherwise, don't waste your brain space!

Grade: * out of ***** February 2, 2006

The last real House Party

Unless you count the 4th movie, made a few years ago, 'House Party 3' is the true conclusion to this Kid N' Play comedy series. The good news is that the series goes out with a bang. Too many comparisons have been made between this third film and the first two in the series. However, 'House Party 3' is funny in its own right.

Kid N' Play are back and Kid is getting married. A lot of the movie focuses on all the temptation he faces on the way to his upcoming wedding. Play is one of those helping to tempt Kid. There really isn't a solid story to base the movie around. The bigger picture is that a bachelor party is being planned for Kid. Kid N' Play borrow some money to help fund this party, all the while attempting to sign a rap group, Sex As A Weapon (played by real life group, TLC). The whole movie is centered around this thin storyline.

Some of the supporting cast includes Chris Tucker and Bernie Mac, both of whom went on to bigger and better things. The majority of the characters, including Aunt Lucy, don't contribute to the plot and just happen to be in the vicinity.

Kid N' Play must have knew going in that this would be the last movie in the 'House Party' series. It shows when you are watching this. Nonetheless, there are plenty of laughs. The best supporting characters include Uncle Vester (played by Bernie Mac) and Stinky. While Bernie's character, like many of the others, has little to do with the outcome, he makes the movie much better than it would have been without him.

Kid's dad, played in the first movie by the late Robin Harris, has a cameo as a snapshot. Tisha Campbell reprises her role as Kid's former love interest from earlier in the series. Her role is fairly limited and is just meant to stir the pot a little, adding some tension leading up to the wedding.

The ending is a happy one, a simple party scene involving everyone from the movie together in Kid's house. There was a fourth 'House Party' movie made, but Kid N' Play had nothing to do with it. With the way this one ended, it would really be impossible to do another movie with the same characters. It would be too hard to convince people to come to a 'House Party' thrown by a married man.

This should be a no-brainer for fans of the series. The best thing is that there is a very easy lead-in to 'House Party 3', meaning that you don't need to see the first two from the series to sit down and watch this. However, it is a lot more fun that way. Overall, this is a pretty good black comedy with more than enough funny moments to make this worth at least a rental. December 1, 2005

da last house party i am ever going 2 watch and attend

this party was getting old because kid and play r now old well in their 20s they don't have enough time 2 fool around and getting into trouble like da first 2 films and tisha campbell isn't in da entire film but chris tucker and benmae mac were very funny u get guess star appearacne from tlc and immature da fourth one i didn't bother watching because it didn't have kid and play because they are now in their 30s too old so but i do see is da r and b group immature not so immature and other people that didn't do anything 2 get my attention of watching this film this was da final house party movie that i watched because of da late cool kid and play and what happened 2 big ear martin l he was surpose 2 b here i saw his replacement which was a guy that almost look like him but had an enough bigger mouth than him but he was kinda of funny Joe Brown September 17, 2005

House Party Falls Off

This movie was a huge dissapointment. I feel Kid 'N Play peaked with Class Act. House Party I is of course a classic, and I felt it was out done by House Party II (those who say this one is better than that film are our of their minds). This film came out 3 years after that one, so I guess the lack of an immediate follow up may be the first clue that this movie wasn't going to be up to standards. My main beef with this film can probably be contributed to waht was going wrong with hip hop culture at the time it came out. This movie seems slightly more thugged out than the previous House Parties. Those movies had a more pure b-boy feel to them. You can feel the impact of the westcoast gangsta bandwagon in this film. They should've just avoided this and done their own thing reguardless. I doubt this has anything to do with what Kid 'N Play would've wanted, so the blame probably goes on the writer/director/studio. They never got played out as rappers imho. Its just the industry got all messed up by this gangsta bs, and obviously a group with their kind of aesthetic could not surviive. Other things I was dissapointed by was the lack of characters from the earlier two films. Sidney gets a couple of cheap cameos instead of a starring role like she should've had. Other than Kid 'N Play and Pops' photograph, thats all there is that links this to the earlier films. However, Kid 'N Play don't even get a fair shake in this movie because alot of their screen time is stolen by those gimmickly, little midgets, Immature, who I seriously wanted to kick the sh** out of. Bernie Mac, however, is hilarious in this film, as always. Hes one of this film's saving graces. There is also a really funny family dinner scene where the crap hits the fan. Overall though, this movie is boring, unfunny, and lacking the charm of Kid 'N Play's other films. Go check those out instead, only get this one if you're really interested in seeing the duo on screen again. March 27, 2005

IT'S GETTIN OLD NOW

THIS TIME, KID GETS ENGAGED, AND HE THROWS A BACHELOR PARTY AT HIS HOUSE. MY QUESTION IS WHO CARES? KID N PLAY HAD GOTTEN PLAYED OUT AS RAPPERS BY THE TIME THIS MOVIE CAME OUT. THE ONLY FUNNY MOMENTS COME FROM BERNIE MAC AND REYNALDO REY. I WAS GONNA GIVE THIS ONE JUST 1 STAR, BUT AFTER SEEING HOUSE PARTY 4, I DECIDED TO CHANGE IT TO 2 STARS. BUT STILL, AVOID THIS TRASHY SEQUEL. July 26, 2003

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