Eugene Allen Movies

Robin Harris, Christopher Reid's foul-mouthed and irascible father from the original House Party film, died in the interim, but he has a university named after him in this follow-the-dots sequel. Kid (Christopher Reid) has finally made it to college in House Party 2, but not without problems. Sent to Harris University on a scholarship check given to him by his local church congregation, he finds himself broke before he can even buy the books for his college courses. He can thank his old pal Play (Christopher Martin) for his financial straits, since Play borrowed the money to pay a phony music producer named Shelia (Iman), who has headed off to parts unknown. Kid tries to pay for tuition by working in the college cafeteria but is thrown out because he is not considered a student. Problems compound when his girlfriend Sidney (Tisha Campbell) spends more time studying than with him. He also receives lectures on political correctness from her strident roommate Zora (Queen Latifah). Still, Kid's main concern is finding the money for college. Finally Kid agrees to go along with Play's scheme -- to hold a surreptitious late-night pajama party in the faculty hall to raise funds to pay for Kid's education. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The talents of the cast and director George Cukor (A Star Is Born, My Fair Lady), combine to bring off this otherwise routine Western based on a Louis L'Amour novel. Sophia Loren is Angela Rossini, a woman who seems to create the situations she gets into, and Anthony Quinn is the strong, silent but soft-hearted Tom Healy. Rather than playing it straight, Cukor opts for satire and effective comedy in taking "The Great Healy Dramatic and Concert Co.," with its two-wagon loads of thespians and their gear, and turning it into a fun romp. As the troupe carries on with their performances heading through Wyoming, they are fighting for their economic survival and, as often as not, running like the devil from the law. There is a likeable villain in the piece, Mabry (Steve Forrest), a zany woman who has "sacrificed" her own dubious stage career for that of her daughter (Eileen Heckart), a so-called Shakespearean actor (Edmund Love), a banker with menacing undertones (Ramon Novarro), and a really hysterical Indian attack. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide