From Wrecked to Ruined

A party run amuck takes the shaky camera genre to new heights/lows



By Morgan P Salvo

Not to be confused with the 1987 Matthew Broderick experimental lab chimp movie of the same name, this Project X bears no similarities except for that people act like a bunch of baboons. I have no idea why this movie is called Project X when it is basically Superbad gone turbo with out any of its charm.
The plot has nerdy high-school seniors Thomas, Costa and JB, (Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper and Jonathan Daniel Brown) who decide to throw a party for the sex and fame it could bring them. The obvious motivating factor in the flick is the necessity for these guys to get laid, especially nice guy Thomas for his 18th birthday. So plans are hatched for a major, babe-filled blowout the night his parents leave town for the weekend. As Costa puts it, “It’s about changing the game”. Predictably it gets out of hand to gargantuan proportions.
First-time filmmaker and director Nima Nourizadeh does an impressive job of making the action look like one huge continuous splatter of youthful drug-induced alcoholic insanity. It’s Superbad meets Cloverfield and the monster is the party. Once again we are subjected to the “found footage” self documentary style and then there are flip cameras, real Hollywood hand held cameras and fake news footage. There are so many different angles it’s hard to tell who’s shooting what, which allows the editing to shine, resulting in tiny little moments that are pure cinematic genius.
The performances are alright. Thomas is excellent at being worried and trying to have fun simultaneously, as it is his parents’ house. Costa is animated but still creepy and JB, try as he may, is still the unlikable fat guy dork.

X gives props to every party movie on the planet including Animal House, Porky's and all Girls Gone Wild videos but still mostly Superbad. After a while even though the thinly veiled plot does all the requisite things, this dizzyingly shot flick is all about the chaos. It seems to have the reverse effect it strives for. I felt nauseous after seeing this, not hilariously entertained. The movement of this party’s trajectory has nowhere to go but the obvious law of party physics that dictate what gets fun has to get dangerous, nasty and wrong.This is what happens when the Nerd Patrol throws an instant party

Which brings me to the main problem of PX, I can’t tell what it’s really trying to say. Sure it’s about the set up, the descent, the chaos, and the total annihilation. I don’t know how many times I heard “pussy, dicks, bitches, faggots and midgets” mentioned in its Tosh.O attempt to shock. The flick’s political incorrectness remains its staple but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before, just a case of overkill.
Once again the previews were too revealing. The only surprise is the guy with the blowtorch and that’s where the script gets too far fetched. PX is just montage after montage of people imbibing, stripping, screwing and heaving, enhanced by Eminem and other hip hop artists boasting rank lyrics about sex and more sex.
Project X was reportedly inspired by an incident in Australia a few years back when, thanks to an invitation that got posted online, hundreds of people turned up for a house party, resulting in uncontrollable mayhem and thousands of dollars in damage. With the stamp of producer Todd Phillips of Hangover and Old School fame, this actually reminds me more of his documentary on GG Allin (Hated). With unrecognizable newcomer thespians it has a more believable documentary quality that you can’t avoid or shake yet this movie leaves you with a bigger “hangover” than its predecessors’ franchise of the same name.
As in Suberbad, the dweeb lead gets the girl and everyone is happy even if they are punished for life. They’ve accomplished what no other senior has: a major epic and legendary event and herein lies the weird morality. While PX plays out as one nauseating escapade after another, it still regains its status as super cool. The audience is then left with bigger questions like was this irony, tragedy, nihilistic or triumphant? I’m not sure why this movie was made if for not other reason but to throw a party this huge and get away with it. Did I mention Superbad?


Project X
Starring Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown, Dax Flame, Kirby Bliss Blanton
Directed by Nima Nourizadeh
Rated R
2 ½ stars