Class Act

1992's Class Act was hip hop duo Kid N' Play's first and only movie together that wasn't part of the House Party series. Duncan Pinderhughes (Kid) is a straight cut bookworm and Blade Brown (Play) is a troubled teen fresh out of jail. The two start high school under weird circumstances when they're school records are switched. Pinderhughes ended up being placed in a class of roughnecks while Brown went to the more established honor roll classes. When they learn of the mistake and confront each other, they try to use the mishap to their advantage to straighten out their problems. For example, Pinderhughes, because he was nonathletic, needed to pass gym and Brown just needed grades in general. From there on the film is one big laugh riot. The culture clash between the two plays off great on screen. Pinderhughes is used to finer things in life (classical music being one), he has great manners and is usually around kids of his own intellect. Meanwhile, Brown grew up in a rough environment and the streets definitely gave him the tough and mean persona we see. Usually films like this don't really do well with age and they're seen as "90s comedy". But 15 years later, scenes from Class Act are still being talked about and laughed at. It also helps that it is shown on HBO and BET a lot these days. Class Act is a refreshing comedy and has definitely stood the test of time.

Class Act - *** out of ****