Young Kid has been invited to a party at his friend Play's house. But after a fight at school, Kid's father grounds him. None the less, Kid sneaks out when his father falls asleep. But Kid doesn't know that three of the thugs at school have decided to give him a lesson in behavior.
House Party is silly and high-spirited and not particularly significant, and that is just as it should be.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
[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,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
There's a lot more energy and social reality in this picture than one is accustomed to finding in teen exploitation movies; the cutting is often dynamic, and Hudlin generally does a good job of keeping things moving.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
House Party isn't a great movie, but it's heartfelt and enormously winning.
– Hal Hinson,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
All of the performances are good and the soundtrack pulses with humor as well as decibels.