Project X - Movie Review

PROJECT X

Who’s in it:

Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper and Jonathan Daniel Brown

Who made it:

Nima Nourizadeh  – Director

Todd Phillips – Producer

What’s it about:

The Hangover‘s Todd Phillips produces this outrageous comedy from writers Matt Drake and Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), which follows three undistinguished high-school students who attempt to achieve popularity by throwing the ultimate party

5.5/10 – Party out of control!

Here’s the next “found footage” movie about a bunch of teenagers getting in way, way over their heads – after Chronicle. This time though there are no super powers or crazy  homicidal teens, just alcoholic young delinquents and homicidal adults. Its a movie about the ultimate party, the party to end all parties, and maybe a few lives on the way.

When young Thomas (Thomas Mann) turns 17 his parents decide to leave the house to him for the weekend so he can a few people over to celebrate with him. Little do they know that Thomas’ foul mouthed, horny and overall bad influence best friend, Costa (Oliver Cooper), has something else in mind. He (Costa) goes out of his way to convince Thomas that not only does he need a party to get noticed in high school, he needs the biggest, craziest party ever. Their timid pal JB (Jonathan Daniel Brown) signs up to lend a (mostly useless) hand and through the magic of the world wide web the party gets enormously out of control – what happens next is a normal teenage party, with the right amount of sex, drugs and alcohol, turning into a nightmare scenario of drunken riots, major property destruction, animal cruelty and near death experiences. Project X quickly turns from the greatest high school party ever thrown, to the worst night in Thomas’ life.

There is nothing overly special about this movie, there are no real character developments or any particular plot to wrap your head around. It could have been a YouTube video about kids throwing a party and no one would have lost any sleep over it. All it gives you is a party. A party so wild and crazy it easily fills most of the hour and half run-time, but that’s pretty much it.

The filmmakers don’t seem all that interested in making you like any of the actors. These are obnoxious children of privilege who have no sense of right or wrong when their fun is at stake, the boys are all horny and foul mouthed, and the girls are ever ready to take off their tops at the word go. No one here has a moral compass, even pre-teens are allowed in on the fun.  All the party-goers need to know is that this is a one night only thing, so they should be allowed to binge drink, smoke weed and do as much E as they want without anyone cramping their style, even if half the neighborhood is in ruins by morning. There is a nonjudgmental tone throughout the whole thing that, if you’re not careful, could be mistaken for “this is the way life should be” kinda attitude by those witnesses it. So if you know your teen(s) is (are) easily influenced, keep them far away from this, far, far way.

It could feel overly long at times, because, let’s be honest, you can only watch a party continually spiral out of control for so long. The ending is not particularly satisfying – and feels forced and somewhat insulting -, but neither was the movie, save for a couple of laughs and a little person in an oven. So if at the end of it all, you don’t get why this is a comedy, then you’ve probably outgrown all these shenanigans, and that’s fine, most people won’t get it, but, those that do will have a reasonably good time.