Project X Review

On the night of their friend Thomas' birthday, three friends set out to film and put on the most monumental party that one could possibly imagine. Over time however, things start to spiral out of control, as word of the party's existence takes things from 1, to 10, to beyond even that...




STRAIGHT! EDGE! REVENGE!


is nowhere to be found here. This is an exercise in insanity and partying, with Todd Phillips (Old School, The Hangover) serving as producer and a large cast of unknowns or first time actors taking the lead(s). Project X sets out to be not just an incredible party movie, but possibly THE party of the decade. Keep in mind that we're only 2 years into the new decade however, so while the bar is most likely high after this, it can, and will be broken. It is also the second time that someone has recorded a found footage film in the realm of comedy, the other being the already forgotten The Virginity Hit. So does it succeed, at least for the time being?

My apologies if the usual movie description beneath the poster seems a bit vague. Unfortunately, there really isn't any sort of plot to the film whatsoever, outside of "Let's throw a party and try to get as crazy as humanly possible." I'm alright with large parties in films, but I prefer to have a little something else mixed in, such as likable or even realistic characters or so long as the film doesn't go through the motions. With the former, I wasn't so lucky. I loathed nearly all of the main stars from the start, and there really isn't anything particularly sympathetic about any of them. The character of Costa, played by Oliver Cooper, is irritating to the point of being a cartoon character. Imagine the worst characteristics of a "wigger" combined with that obnoxious rich kid you knew at some point on in your life, and he's that to a tee. J.B. and Thomas, the other main characters, are your cliched fat kid and loser. At least Seth and Evan in Superbad felt like they could have been human beings, these just felt like fictional beings that were written over the course of one drunken night in college while struggling in creative arts. With the latter, the film does run out of steam at times, even when things get incredibly hectic. Hell, even the soundtrack seemed like it was trying too hard to stay in touch, as odd as that might sound.

"But Ryan, who gives a crap about the plot? Or the characters? Does the party deliver?" It absolutely does. The main gathering in Project X is a pretty large one, and a rather epic one at that. It is the one truly redeeming factor to this otherwise dumb film. It even made me pine for the days when I was younger and more foolhardy and didn't have to worry about odd work hours squandering any opportunity to "get fucked up." There was a brief second where I myself wondered "You know, I bet I could pull off something like this some day." Thankfully, that thought disappeared once things truly did get out of control, though it takes quite some time for that to occur.

Make no mistake about it, this isn't a particularly good film. It uses the handycam style in order to attempt and fool you into thinking that it has a single original bone in it's body. You're better off watching Superbad, Risky Business, or The Boys and Girls Guide to Getting Down. But in all honesty, I really couldn't bring myself to hate it. If you stumble across this on cable late night, or it pops up on your Netflix Instant Queue with no other titles worth viewing at the moment, you could do worse.