Booze, a bouncy castle, and an angry dwarf trapped in an oven. Though this sounds strange, it is the premise of the movie “Project X.” It’s “Superbad” meets “The Hangover” in this found-footage style film documenting a fictional high school party.
Thomas Cub (Thomas Mann) is turning 17 years old, and his best friends, self-proclaimed lady’s man Costa (Oliver Cooper) and pudgy nerd JB (Jonathan Daniel Brown), are determined to throw him the biggest birthday party that their school has ever seen. Accompanying the trio is gothic loner Dax (Dax Flame), who serves as the film’s principle cinematographer. With his parents gone for the weekend, Thomas and his pals start planning for what they assume will be a 50-person house party. A few hours and over 1,000 people later, things spiral out of control. As the house becomes trashed and police get involved, Thomas and his friends realize what is probably the most epic night of their lives could lead to devastating consequences.
Don’t expect to find any underlying moral or deeper message from this movie. With plenty of illegal substances but no real substance, “Project X” has as much to offer as a 90-minute MTV music video. Produced by Todd Philips, who directed “Old School” and “The Hangover,” the film offers the raunchy antics of most R-rated comedies without portraying any real conflict or character development. The majority of the flick shows scene after scene of reckless partying interspersed with a worried Thomas making sure nothing in his house gets broken or stolen.While there are moments that move beyond the marginal, such as the instances that show Thomas’ complicated feelings for his childhood friend Kirby (Kirby Bliss Blanton), “Project X” delivers exactly what it promises: an over-the-top party. In this regard it certainly does not disappoint, as there are several shocking and comedic scenes that are sure to keep you entertained. For those aged 16 to 21 years, “Project X” offers addrenaline induced fun, just don’t expect it to be thought provoking.
rthompson@hillsdale.edu
