The new Mario Van Peebles teen comedy/drama, We The Party, opens this Friday, and AllHipHop.com has a few video clips of the movie to share, along with a movie review from our staffer, Jon Garcia. Check back tomorrow for our exclusive sit-down with Mario Van Peebles and his son, Mandela.
Movie Review:
We The Party is a film orchestrated by Mario Van Peebles, a film that attempts to accurately capture the essence of teenage life in today’s world. The execution of this topic has been eluding filmmakers for quite some time. Set in sunny California, with high-profile appearances by Snoop Dogg, YG, and the New Boyz, the cast and set seem fit to portray the youth. But would the storyline follow through as well?
The lead, “Hendrix,” is played by Mario Van Peebles’s son, Mandela Van Peebles. Hendrix has his crew of friends – “Quicktime,” “Obama,” “Chowder,” and “Que” – all five ready and willing for high school nonsense. The array of personalities here are supposed to showcase the nation’s youth of today, in a real way, which they succeed doing at times. An abundance of vulgarity is thrown around, as well as sometimes eye-rolling clichés.
However, if the film is anything, it’s honest. The crew mentioned above gets in enough trouble to keep the crowd laughing, but they also deal with serious dilemmas involving other students. Rapper YG plays a troubled teen named “CC,” who is trapped in the gang life. “Cheyenne,” played by Simone Battle, is the love – and subsequently, “Prom,” interest of Hendrix, and all seven, plus more, get tangled in a web of social pressures, bad report letters, and situations that test their resolve of sticking together.
When the film begins, it reeks of “Disney TV movie, two hour special.” It comes off as a bit corny, and reaching at the idea of relevancy. But as the picture progresses, you warm up to it. The situations become more relatable, and soon characters from the script are being identified as friends of your own.
There may be a handful of cliché moments, but there are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and entertained. We The Party is an entertaining watch, one that is sure to draw smiles from adolescent watchers going through the same thing. It doesn’t capture the attitude of teenagers today with complete certainty, but it’s pretty damn close most of the time. From prom anxiety, social awkwardness, c###-blocks and money woes, We The Party has a reason to celebrate. Be sure to check out the clips below: