Hey folks, Valkor here. And thanks to the folks at Warner Home
Video, I'm takin you back to the 90's; you know high top fades,
parachute pants, girls with big hair (strangely enough, in Bayonne,
NJ they still do), and cool music. What was hype back then was
the sounds of Kid n Play. Songs like "Ain't Gonna hurt nobody",
"2 Hype", "Oh La Oh La eh" and "Can't Get Enough" were blazin
through cars and beatboxes across the nation. There sound was
fun, bouncy, easy on the ears and you can easily jam to em on
the dance floor. Oh and did you know these guys made movies? One
in particular is comin at ya from Warner Archive collection, which
was probably their funniest next to "House Party", I'm talkin
"Class Act".
Class Act pits two dudes born from either side of the tracks – one from the good, Duncan (Christopher "Kid" Reid) and one from the bad, Blade (Christopher "Play" Martin), who are mixed up in a case of mistaken identity. When their records "curiously" get mixed up, the two have their roles switched and now Duncan is supposed to be the bad ass and Blade is now the nerd. This actually works in the real Blade's favor, because he's got a bad criminal record and by order of a judge, he must go back to school and get good grades or else its back in the slammer. So what does Duncan get out of all this? Well he's super-smart, but he's got no physical skills. So it's up to Blade to help Duncan pass PE.
Things get messier as Blade's world catches up with him and the duo and crew are pitted against a drug kingpin, Mink (Thomas Mikal Ford aka Tommy "I ain't got a job" from "Martin") and his posse, who thinks Blade (Duncan) stole his money from Wedge (Lamont Johnson), the class bully who was served an ass-whoopin on the daily to help Duncan look the thug part.
And in between all this the two will try to survive in each other's world, get the girls Damita (Alysia Rogers) and Ellen (Karyn Parsons), keep said girls from finding out their secret, and even partake in a performance of one of their, at that time, current hits. On top of it all there are some prime cameos such as Rhea Perlman (Cheers), Meshach Taylor (Designing Women), Doug E. Doug (Cosby, Hangin wit the Homeboys), Pauly Shore (Encino Man), Loretta Devine (Waiting to Exhale), and Sam McMurray (very extensive film career), just to name a few.
You know this is gonna turn out all right, but what does the Val-man think of this crazy comedy?
The Good:
For a film that's pushin 20 years, it still holds up pretty well and just as funny as when I first saw it; Kid N Play work great together as complete opposites and they really ham it up nicely. You gotta give it up for Kid as he's a crack-up as nerdy Duncan, who never let's go of the role, even when he's supposed to be a total gangsta. The same goes for Play and his thuggish nature, though he plays it up a little too well at times, but it's totally acceptable. The jokes are totally visual, with some suggestive yucks tossed in, especially the scene where Duncan (Blade) does his dissertation describing how sex is like a car. The film is so well paced that the jokes never becomes dry or boring – totally enjoyable straight through. The cameos were pretty cool and Pauly Shore was way unexpected; he plays the exact same guy he plays in Encino Man… or it the same role from his MTV bits…? Either way it was pretty cool. Finally the film's soundtrack is so freakin awesome with hits by Salt n Pepa (Let's talk about Sex), Monie Love (It's a Shame), Black Box (Everybody, Everybody), and Jodeci (Forever My Lady).
The Bad:
The ending was definitely rushed going from that Bowl Quiz, the guys getting the girls, and Kid getting a little something, somethin. Oh and kinda disturbing, Alysia Rogers… maybe it's just me, but she has some serious man hands.
The Ugly:
Wedge's face after all those beatings! DAMN!!!!
Overall Class Act is the perfect addition to the Warner Archive Collection – It's a little three stooges, it's a little Abbott and Costello, and it's a whole lotta fun. Chris and Chris aka Kid n Play should be proud of this timeless comedic masterpiece. Out of TOV Five stars, I give "Class Act" 4 stars and it's been Valkor tested and TOV Approved.
