House Party, Reginald Hudlin's charming, perceptive, consistently funny 1990 directorial debut, proved the existence of a sizable, appreciative audience for black-themed comedies that didn't happen to star Eddie Murphy. Combining the innocent exuberance of a great music movie with the perception of a terrific teen comedy, and tossing in a high-concept plot, a comedian- and musician-heavy cast, and crowd-pleasing gags, House Party established a successful formula for its successors. Unfortunately, the lowbrow fare that followed—including House Party's two forgettable sequels—tended to ratchet up the cheap humor while casting aside petty concerns like plot, structure, and characterization. The direct-to-video House Party 4 sinks the franchise to new depths, eschewing high-priced talent like Kid and/or Play in favor of the members of IMX (formerly Immature), who costarred in House Party 3 and take center stage here. IMX frontman Marques Houston stars, reprising his role as the slick-talking leader of an aspiring R&B group. Eager to throw a hell-raising house party of the non-pajama jammy jam variety (à la House Party 2), Houston feigns illness to avoid school and gets sent to housesit for his vacationing uncle. He promptly starts up a party to end all parties. Not content merely to cannibalize its predecessors, House Party 4 also swipes giant chunks of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, giving Houston not only a jealous sister out to discredit his feigned illness, but also a shiny sports car to endanger and a dimwitted school staff to manipulate. Where House Party derived much of its resonance and humor from its vivid, affectionate depiction of middle-class black life, House Party seems content to recycle stale gags about funny-talking Asians, flamboyant homosexuals, and other well-worn bits of tired shtick. Though director Chris Stokes hauls out no fewer than four comical cross-dressers, including the morbidly obese duo of Hercules and Big Time, House Party's 79-minute length still feels padded and forgettable, a dim footnote to a landmark comedy that deserves far better.