EXCLUSIVE – Remaking House Party did not prove to be too difficult for the cast of the 2023 reboot, as they all came into the project familiar with the 90s classic.
Like franchise originators Kid-N-Play, two of the main cast members have — Jacob Latimore and Rotimi — have found success as actors and artists. But in a new interview with HipHopDX, both recalled discovering the veteran Hip Hop duo through the original House Party series, which comprised three movies released between 1990 and 1994
“As a kid you definitely remember what you see more than what you heard,” says Jacob Latimore, who plays one of the House Party reboot’s lead characters, Kevin. “You see the iconic dance routine and them remaking it and doing it in interviews… it’s important.”
For me it was the film,” echoed Rotimi. “I thought they were so cool. And I thought it was so geniusly written and genuinely funny. It was the first of its kind. So for us to be part of something that was so legendary, we had to bring our A game. They had to make sure the writing was good, they had to pick the best cast for it.”
The former Power star wasn’t the only one to allude to the criticism and skepticism that preceded the movie’s January 13 release during DX‘s exclusive conversation with the cast.
“We’ve been hearing things about what they thought the movie was gonna be but we never allowed that to transition into set work,” DC Young Fly revealed. “We never allowed none of the bad energy to come on set. We already knew what we was facing we just got together and was like ‘whatever happens we’re going to do it together. And not only are we going to do it together, let’s just have fun. We’ll worry about the extra stuff later on.
He added: “But as we can see now, the results: this is a great movie. Not only does it pay homage to the older generation, but it’s refreshing. It gives us a new light on what House Party would be in today’s time.”
While maintaining the original House Party‘s general premise, the remake introduces a few updated plot points. British actor Tosin Cole plays Damon, a down-on-his-luck promoter who, along with partner and best friend Kevin, is trying to come up with a quick money scheme after losing their jobs as house cleaners.
The plan they land on is an outlandish house party at the home of their final cleaning client: none other than LeBron James, who makes a cameo in the film.
With Cole also having been a fan of the Kid-N-Play originals, Jacob Latimore says he and his co-star didn’t even attempt to rehearse the iconic dance named after the duo and popularized by the first House Party.
“We didn’t want to do too much rehearsing because we wanted to keep it raw and fresh,” the Chi-Town actor explained. “We didn’t want it to feel to ‘5,6, 7 8’ vibes. I think we do a great job of showing how they kick it by themselves and when they get to the party they get to do the moves they’ve always been practicing.”
House Party is in theaters now!
