Film Review: HOUSE PARTY (2023): A Couple of Average Guys Throw a Party at LeBron James’ Home in an Occasionally Funny but Uninspired Remake

House Party Review

House Party (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Calmatic, written by Stephen Glover and Jamal Olon and starring Jacob Latimore, Tosin Cole, LeBron James, Andrew Santino, Allen Maldonado, Karen Obilom, Tamera Kissen, Melvin Gregg, Rotimi, Bill Bellamy, Shakira Ja’nai Paye, Nakia Burrise, D.C. Young Fly, Olivia Sky, Bottara Angele, Paris Nicole, Christopher Wolfe, Irie Soule and Dolly Gray.

House Party, directed by Calmatic, is a reworking of the movie series of the same name from the 1990’s which starred Kid ‘n Play (blink and you’ll miss the duo’s cameo in this new film). This new version of the material takes a fresh spin on the material with its basic overall premise but doesn’t elevate its idea to anything other than a mediocre film with a few laughs sprinkled in-between some scenes which are clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel to get laughs. However, the movie is surprisingly not boring and keeps the audience in anticipation to see what will happen next as it unveils some inane but interesting plot development.

Two struggling California house cleaners named Kevin (Jacob Latimore) and Damon (Tosin Cole) end up learning they’re about to get fired for unprofessional behavior discovered on camera by those in the corporate office. Damon is a promoter and Kevin is a single dad looking to take care of his little daughter, Destiny. When the two guys discover the house they are cleaning for their last job is that of LeBron James, they decide to throw caution to the wind and post on social media in order to get people to come to the party. Kevin and Damon’s goal is to make money and that they could do as the party captures the attention of a vast array of people.

The very charismatic Karen Obilom serves as Venus who is looking to get promoted at her job so has to be cautious in the decisions she makes. She doesn’t want to be an accomplice to Kevin and Damon’s scheme to throw the house party but ends up reluctantly agreeing to participate in the festivities. Obilom rocks the movie at one point with a terrific dance scene which is just how you do a solid dance sequence in a wild movie like this.

This film, however, is stolen by a koala bear who ends up taking too many drugs at one point. The koala’s owner, Peter (Andrew Santino) ends up mad and Peter just may end up causing rain to come down on Kevin and Damon’s parade unless…see the movie to find out what happens. The movie’s koala saves a key character from some thugs (including one played by the energetic Melvin Gregg) and is so out of place in the picture that it actually saves the movie from mediocrity in the scenes it appears because the presence of the animal is such a wacky scenario.

LeBron James eventually comes into the movie in person but I won’t tell you how. I can tell you that the aforementioned thugs get past security and steal one of LeBron’s beloved rings with somewhat funny results. The least funny scene in the movie, however, is an Eyes Wide Shut-type party which is attended in an effort to get the ring back and results in violence that turns out to be more lame than comical.

House Party is ultimately uninspired because it doesn’t know what to do with its interesting premise. Since the movie had LeBron’s support, the sky was the limit as to what could have been done with the material. However, the movie never rises to the heights it should have from a comical standpoint. Sure, it’s fun to see cameos from Mya and Snoop Dogg but there’s no purpose to their roles other than to highlight the presence of famous people to enhance the viewing experience. These brief turns don’t do what they intend to do because there’s ultimately no substance to the cameos. They’re just there, for whatever reason, but mostly to maintain viewer interest.

Latimore and Cole have a nice rapport together. They play off each other with remarkable comic timing. It’s just a shame the script didn’t give them better dialogue to work with. Latimore has the juicier role but Cole is still entertaining enough to hold his own beside him. There are some cute comic touches to their characters who are really just decent guys looking to do good for themselves.

When LeBron appears in the movie, there is more fun to be had than was expected but wouldn’t it have been more interesting if there was some kind of surprising development to his appearance in the film? This movie plays out predictably and suffers as a result.

While House Party has more than a fair share of flaws, it may just appeal to fans of LeBron and the musical artists the film presents. When compared to the original 1990 House Party movie, however, this new film just isn’t as fun.

Rating: 6/10

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