Voted most likely to start a riot in the movie theatre parking lot, Project X is the party you wish you were cool enough to be invited to in high school.
Less of a film and more of an experience, a 90-minute music video with erratic bouts of dialogue is undoubtedly the most fun moviegoers can have without doing something illegal.
Filmed in a documentary style more appealing and less traumatizing than pioneer of the home video technique The Blair Witch Project, director Nima Nourizadeh makes his film debut with Project X.
Drawing on his experience directing music videos for the likes of Lily Allen and Santigold, Nourizadeh succeeds in transferring this style of film from the world of horror to comedy.
Produced by Todd Phillips, Project X is hilarious, raunchy and undoubtedly brought to viewers by a man whose body of work includes the now-classic Hangover films.
The plot reveals the events of one over-the-top night and follows three unexceptional teenagers looking to become legends and, quite frankly, get what every teenage boy wants. It’s an effort that leads them to host the most epic high school party. Ever.
A cast reminiscent of the guys who sat across from you in biology worked at the local gas stations and championed the beer pong table on weekends, Project X’s main characters are believable in their roles. However, that’s probably because that’s exactly who they are.
When his parents leave town for the weekend Thomas (Thomas Mann) is pressured by best friends Costa (Oliver Cooper) and J.B. (Jonathon Daniel Brown) to thr
ow a game-changing party. Without realizing the magnitude of his choice, Thomas agrees.
Documenting the night’s misfortunes and triumphs is the creepy and silent Dax (Dax Flame), who despite his absence from sight provides the evening’s documentation with some personality by narration.
A little brother to The Hangover and a sophisticated, sexier cousin of Superbad, Project X strikes the perfect balance between each of its elements.
The crude and colourful Costa is the party’s driving force and as he pressures Thomas to exit his comfort zone in multiple scenarios, his character comes dangerously close to being portrayed as an antagonist. However, the plot stops just short of evoking sympathy for Thomas and by the end of the film viewers have completely forgiven Costa’s crimes and choice of sweater-vests.
The genius of Project X is that while it leaves audiences wanting more, it knows when enough is enough. The film’s length was ideal, providing just enough laughs within just the right amount of time.
Although the plot sounds like, and probably was, cooked up by a bunch of 17-year-old virgins drunk off beer they stole from the fridge in the garage, it’s produced in a glamorous manner. The girls are gorgeous, the suburbs are splendid and even the drunken sweatiness of the evening looks dazzling thanks to the thrilling soundtrack.
Project X is a brilliantly original, fun film that will most likely lead to epic Friday evenings and shameful Saturday mornings.