House Party 3 MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +1 Content: -3

The rappers, Kid n' Play (Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin), are planning a bachelor party for the soon-to-be-married Kid. They try to raise money for the bash by posing as agents for a girl rap group to a record producer. Meanwhile, Kid's three cousins (the kid rap group, Immature) have scammed money from an airline for lost luggage and are also planning a party for Kid. Cousins of Veda, the bride-to-be played by Angela Means, throw a bachelorette party for Veda with entertainment provided by male strippers. Play's party features buxom strippers. Further complications arise when Kid's old girlfriend appears, and a dinner with Veda's parents becomes a war of insults. Kid's Uncle Vester (Bernie Mac) insults Veda's mother and her dad pulls out a gun to stop the arguing. The wedding eventually works out well, but this party is not worth attending.

Unfortunately, HOUSE PARTY 3 contributes to the stereotype of Afro-Americans as foul-mouthed, sex-oriented, and adolescent-minded. An honest Kid is overshadowed by the conniving Play. Kid also professes his desire to be true to Veda while Play tries to bed every woman he meets. It's worse that this attitude of fraud and sex is continued by the pre-teen cousins. Although violence is kept at a minimum, there are enough threats and weapons to perpetrate the image of a violence-prone ethnic group. Other attempts at humor include an elderly aunt who can't remember anything, but understands and watches a pornographic video the cousins give her. Ex-convicts working at a butcher shop try to intimidate their customers with foul-mouthed insults. Rear nudity, both male and female, appears in the aunt's video and at the parties featuring male and female strippers. Many dresses show ample cleavage and have high hemlines. Besides graphic sex in the aunt's video, intercourse is also implied between Veda and Kid. Play and another woman are also shown in bed. Although Kid does have some positive traits, his friends don't share them. Even rap fans would find this party hard to take.

Preview Reviewer: Paul Bicking
Distributor: NewLine Cinema, 575 8th Avenue, 16th Flr, NY, NY 10018