House Party (franchise)

The House Party franchise consists of American comedies, based on a short film written/directed by Reginald Hudlin in 1990. The franchise consists of the original short film, three theatrical releases (the first film and its first two sequels), two straight-to-home video sequels, and one theatrical continuation movie. The events of each installment centers around high school teenagers, who are tasked with responsible duties ranging from studying for class to house-sitting, but instead go against the regimented instructions and plan large parties to increase their popularity at school; while eventually leading to comedic unfortunate circumstances. The plot additionally involves these characters' attempts to fame, in the Hip-hop/Rap music industry.

The short was received in 1983 with warm reception, with Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times stating: "Reginald Hudlin's House Party!, [is] a stylish and witty look at teen-age behavior...", which spawned the overall franchise. The first theatrical film that followed was met with critical acclaim, and has since been credited as noteworthy of a milestone in African American representation and affluence in film history. With its historical significance, House Party has since been labeled and earned its status as cult classic. The sequels that followed have been met with respective diminishing reception, with criticisms pointed at their quality, when compared to the original release.

The franchise continues with the release of House Party.

Christopher Martin, Christopher Reid and Tisha Campbell were the only actors to have appeared in all the original first three House Party films.