{2jtab: Movie Review}

Project X, while full of promise as hinted at by its intriguing title, is a teenage Hangover syphoned through a rambling role-reversed version of Sixteen Candles and that’s about it.  Solid for a minute-long buzz, the “documentary” isn’t fueled for the long trip and quickly burns out in episodic ventures, some stronger and stranger than the others.  Still, the film celebrates everything we are taught to be wary of in a manner so irreverent it manages to often squeak by on its looks alone.

Life lessons are not imparted here as sex, drugs, and rock and roll run rampant.  Leave it or simply like it?  That is the real question.

With no real story and no interesting characters, producer Todd Phillips (director of Road Trip and Hangover) revisits the tried and true territory of horny and beer-starved teenagers all over again.  One would think he’d have outgrown this material but, let’s face it, what was funny once is always funny again.  Besides, the forgetful and forgiving demographic is a genuine cash cow for Hollywood and this film is slated to pick the pockets of most every teen out there in the coming week.

That being said, why would anyone pay money to watch a party when they could be at one?  Project X offers a reason…in 3D.  Kidding.

Project X is just a 90-minute celebration of the right for kids to party.  Yeah, it’s Beastie Boys ‘ya gotta fight for your right’ territory and if you know the lyrics of that classic three-minute anthem then you know just how the anarchy of this film rebelliously flows.  The watery laughs are mostly as splashy as the “Oh-My-God” bathtub exploits, but the film runs out of room for its party-on-the-block antics and makes you wish you were actually at a party instead of merely watching one.

A success?  Maybe…if you’ve got a bit of misogyny on the mind.

Directed by Nima Nourizadeh (in his debut), Project X is about three male teenagers and their attempt to make a name for themselves in the annuals of high school social rankings.  Ultimately, it’s all for a wee bit of attention from some high school honeys.  That sweet nookie can only get you so far, though, and Project X drops it like it is, indeed, hot and goes for the jugular.

Defying his father (Peter Mackenzie) and his list of Do Not’s, Thomas (Thomas Mann) and his two friends, Costa (Oliver Cooper) and J.B. (Jonathan Daniel Brown), throw the party to end all parties and, as uninvited guests keep arriving, find themselves trapped in a house party that melts the mind with improbability and hilariously daft middle school security tactics courtesy of actor Nick Nervies (as Tyler, the film’s only secret weapon).

You know the mentality of these teenage bumper cart vehicles; it’s all hormones, hedonistic theatrics (even the dog gets some), and homophobic rhetoric.  It’s often hilarious, too.  Unfortunately, it’s way too derivative to be all that remarkable.  Countless films – especially those of Phillips – have traversed this scene.  Characters are caustic and carefree and they are carbon-copies of every other teenage flick that’s been kicking around the stump of the ol’ John Hughes giving tree.

Project X goes nowhere and doesn’t seem to even care.  Should it?  Not really.  It isn’t the first to tackle the concept of telecommunicating actual experience either.  Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers did this with The Party, a film so dynamically deranged and better executed that I dare compare the two and so I won’t.  I only mention it for a conceptual comparison.  This film is neither smart comedy nor as engaging, but it has been done before and better.

Moving on…

Project X, while funny at times, is a frosty mug o’ beer that is a bit too full of suds to generate a solid buzz.

{2jtab: Film Details}

MPAA Rating: R for crude and sexual content throughout, nudity, drugs, drinking, pervasive language, reckless behavior and mayhem - all involving teens.
Runtime: 88 mins.
Director: Nima Nourizadeh
Writer: Matt Drake, Michael Bacall
Cast: Thomas Mann; Oliver Cooper; Jonathan Daniel Brown; Kirby Bliss Blanton
Genre: Comedy
Tagline: The Party You've Only Dreamed About.
Memorable Movie Quote: "There's a little guy in the oven."
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: March 2, 2012
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: June 19, 2012

Synopsis: Project X follows three seemingly anonymous high school seniors as they attempt to finally make a name for themselves. Their idea is innocent enough: let's throw a party that no one will forget... but nothing could prepare them for this party. Word spreads quickly as dreams are ruined, records are blemished and legends are born. Project X is a warning to parents and police everywhere. This film has been rated R for crude and sexual content throughout, nudity, drugs, drinking, pervasive language, reckless behavior and mayhem-all involving teens.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Component Grades Movie Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray Experience

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - June 19, 2012
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD); UV digital copy
Region Encoding: A

Supplements:

Commentary:

• There is none

Special Features:

• Pasadena Three
• Declassified

{2jtab: Trailer}

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