Steve Pulaski

(2013-05-21 06:07:17)

Has honesty, but it also has distractions

Mario Van Peebles, and a good chunk of his family for that matter, havemade a film that makes an earnest and respectable attempt to resonatewith the teenage youth of today, specifically those who reside in anurban location, yet are not handicapped by their limitations. We theParty has many different appeals, whether it be its flashy productionvalues, its unassuming cinematography, its cast of young, ambitiousactors, or just the film that engulfs all of these aspects.Unfortunately, everything it does can only be taken so far or untilmonotony weasels itself into the mind.This is likely a film that will resonate with its core audience, teensthat seem to have it all but struggle to balance it out effectively,yet will likely bewilder audiences walking in with an attempt to tryand have a personal connection or even just trying to simply find apicture that is above average. The plot concerns a group of teenagersset in a diverse Los Angeles high school, where prom, being unique,being noticed, fitting in, sex, bullies, and personality are the thingsthat come to matter and are important in life. Our main character isHendrix Sutton (Mandela Van Peebles), a charming high school seniorwith a lot on his mind, concerning girls, cars, and having an enormoushouse party. He is getting solid grades, mainly because his father(Mario) keeps him gridlocked on the road to success and devotion byimplementing the "tough love" principle in his life.Hendrix is friends with a huge group of people that are into the samekind of things, and his plan is to get together with them all, try tohave sex before prom, and throw the ultimate house party with music,women, and dancing. Hendrix becomes deeply involved with Cheyenne(Simone Battle), who is self-aware and intelligent, and the two of themseem to have a mutual connection shared by many high schoolers today.This could've instantly spawned a film of true intelligence andsubstantial relevance, and I was truly engaged during the picture'sfirst act. Then after about a half hour or so, the film took a diveinto the redundancy and the blandness of a mainstream music video.Shots are stockpiled on one another with gyrating teenagers, teenagersmaking decisions, and teenagers just having a good time dancing. Italso doesn't help that the unusual, unnecessary "comic book" style ofediting is the route the filmmakers used to showcase many of theseshots. And not to mention, rarely do we discover any characteristics ofthese five young men other than they like to party and they aredesperately seeking action.It seems every time We the Party tries to go into the idea of humaninterest or some considerable depth with its characters, it is caughtup with heavy handed moralizing, unsatisfying dialog, and blindingenergy from its dance sequence. This is the second major "party" filmI've seen in 2012, and while I can say it isn't perfect, it is stilllight years ahead of the ridiculous Project X.It is pretty apparent the film wants to be on the same level as, say,other urban party films such as the charming and witty House Party - afilm that was elevated by its two charismatic actors and the fact itwasn't just about the party, but the humans that inhabited it and howwe came to know many of them. We the Party has one fantastic scene andthat is a roughly eight minute monologue given by Mario Van Peebles,who is teaching his class about how intelligence is weighed in societyand how people now measure your worth by what you have rather than whatyou say. Let's hope the youth of today doesn't tune out these valuablewords while they are impatiently waiting for a rockin' party.Starring: Mario Van Peebles, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Michael JaiWhite, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, and Snoop Dogg. Directed by: Mario VanPeebles.

zif ofoz

(2013-05-20 14:52:30)

a 30 minute story

who was this movie made for??? anyone beyond the tween and teen groupwill drop out of their chair trying to watch this movie. i think i hitthe floor three or four times (just kidding).there are endless scenes of monotonous 'teen' interaction and needlessstagnant obsessive viewing of 'young flesh' in various stages of dress.if you are willing to punish yourself watching these sophomoric scenesof behavior you will get to the message this film so wants to tell.unfortunately this takes almost two hours! it might have been morepowerful if the director & editor has whittled the footage down to atleast one hour. but as it is i found myself getting very agitatedwatching these teens act out a life that obviously had no meaning tothem outside of the script.

Midan Allen-Brown

(2013-05-19 18:05:21)

Van Peebles' Heart is in the Right Place...

There is something hidden underneath the surface of "We The Party" thatI cannot decipher.Take five teens and put them into a box of conformity and wanting.You're not the coolest, nor the most popular, but you want to be thefirst to win at everything. It's human nature. "We The Party" suffers abit when challenging the audience to feel like they know thesecharacters, when honestly, it doesn't come across as so with a storywe've seen and heard plenty of times before.The character development, for what it's worth, wasn't that bad for theprimary cast. I felt as though Mandela Van Peebles (son of Mario VanPeebles, the film's writer-director) was a risky choice for the leadrole, but he pulled it off. Mario's other son, Makaylo, who playsObama, also has a bit of screen time as well, with slight emotionaldepth to his character. The character Chowder is relatable to mostpeople, and surprisingly, Patrick Cage II conquered the rolestupendously.I felt like the other characters could have been worked on more interms of making it about an outsider clique instead of just aboutHendrix himself. It's not until the final forty minutes when I see thefuture potential in Mandela, who delivers a strikingly good performancealongside rapper Y.G., who manages to steal every scene he's in. Interms of casting, it was good, to say the least.Here is my take on "We The Party". It had a good story going. It is anR-rated film hosting a young, predominant, African-American cast. A bitof "Romeo and Juliet", with fractions of "The Breakfast Club" andwhatever other teen film which involves heavy, seductive partying andbetrayal. I think "Party"'s downfall is that it didn't have a specificmoral or subject to cling onto. Yes, we want success. Earning it isharder. But when clouded with a clichГѓВ©d storyline about not fitting in,trying to get the girl, and going from zero to hero, it becomes stale.The uniqueness of "We The Party" is the authenticity of the actors.There wasn't a time when someone or something felt forced -- but whenthe story is the same, almost, it becomes unoriginal."We The Party" is definitely on my favorite list of films. I think withthe proper marketing and tweaking of the story, this film could've beenfinancially and critically successful. Mr. Van Peebles heart is in theright place, but when you start on something real, you have to bewilling to lay all the cards down. The R-rating didn't sugarcoat thelanguage, but in the real world, there's more to divulge into in theadolescent world filled with drugs, sex and violence.I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good independent filmwith a few laughs and character's struggle with identity. However, ifyou're looking for the next "Thirteen" or "Project X", this is not thefilm for you.

eggbertsmith

(2013-05-14 12:08:25)

LuV the title! Dey keepin it realz, yo!

Title reminds me of the masterpiece: "How she move"! What an excellentfilm, excellent title, pretty much excellent in every way a movie isjudged! ...unless you are one of those idiot haters! You know, the typethat hates conformity, stupidity, lack of talent/skill, and despisesfilms which were meant to appeal to the lowest-common-denom nom nomnom! What broken records those pretentious fools are, amirite? I likemy movies like I enjoy my bowel movements! Easy! Smooth! And withouthaving to think. Duh! Racial stereotypes are cool! Street lingo isdope, y'all. And hip-hop is a brilliant and fresh new flava (see how Idid that?) of music which appeals to the new generation! Cause itSPEAKS TO US! Loudly! DOWN WITH THE OLD, AND IN WITH THE NEW! We arethe hip and street-wise youths of tomorrow, and we will speak how welike! Dance how we like! And dress how we like! You cant stop us, don'teven try. We will express our individuality byspeaking/dancing/dressing like every other person within ourdemographic and in accordance to the images we are fed by the media andadvertising agencies (most of which are run by white people who make agreat deal of money and who couldn't possibly understand us).... causethinking outside the box is for un-trendy nerds who look stoopid (see?again?!) on the dance floor! 4 realz, yo! HIP-HOP 4EVA!!!!!!

Beatrice McClearn

(2013-05-13 13:26:11)

Good Movie, No Real Audience.

The movie is great for teens. It gives great concepts that I would wantto teach my son or daughter. The movie touches on a variety of topicsthat include judging others based on appearances, establishing a greatnetwork of friends, the importance of social media on relationships,and the specialty of being a virgin. As a former middle school teacher,I saw the value in many of these lessons. Unfortunately, this movie mayget bad reviews because it actually does teach a little bit ofprincipal and morale. It's not the typical bad ass movie that we see intoday's time. So it may not come across as well as the directorintended. Therefore, the audience may be difficult to find in thismovie. However, it doesn't stop it from being an okay film that I wouldrecommend you buy on DVD or see if you want an okay movie night.