Project X

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Project X.

Directed by Nima Nourizadeh

Written by Matt Drake & Michael Bacall

Screen Story by Michael Bacall

Review #154

MPAA Rating: R for crude and sexual content throughout, nudity, drugs, drinking, pervasive language, reckless behavior and mayhem. All involving teens.

Runtime: 88 min

Cast

Thomas Mann ...Thomas

Oliver Cooper ...Costa

Jonathan Daniel Brown ...JB

Dax Flame ...Dax

Kirby Bliss Blanton ...Kirby

Brady Hender ...Everett - Security Guard

Nick Nervies ...Tyler

Alexis Knapp ...Alexis

I wonder what Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez must be thinking right now. If they have any idea what they've started.

For those of you who don't know who these guys are. They are the creators of The Blair Witch Project. Their fresh take on the horror/ghost story not only revolutionized the genre, it spawned several attempts to recapture their success. With films like Cloverfield and the Paranormal Activity series, the found footage genre has been flooding the cinema in recent years. Those are the successful ones. 2012 has given us 2 films applying the same presentation tactic but going a different route with genre. Chronicle gave us a take on what the found footage style would look like when dealing with superheroes and here with Project X we get the high school party scene. Right off the bat I'm going to say that employing the found footage style to a party film is just a stupid idea. Does that mean I didn't like the film?

Nope. Quite the contrary actually.

Plot

3 high school seniors throw a birthday party to make a name for themselves. As the night progresses, things spiral out of control as word of the party spreads.  

At first glance the premise didn't seem possible or workable. The writers did a good job of proving me wrong for most of the film. When you are dealing with party films there are three aspects that must be part of the mix in order for it to work. Drinks, drugs and sex. Project X covers those bases extremely well. The problem with the film is that in certain spots the found footage style just doesn't fly and it feels forced. This is most evident when the guys are at school trying to promote the party. Then the film does something pretty smart. They change video sources. Since kids who don't have jobs have I Phones, the movie goes from the main camera to other sources of the party coverage. Camera phones, police cameras etc. This was a very clever way to switch things up and change the dynamic between the party and the main camera.

Of course none of this matters unless the cast pulls off the performances. Again, for the most part this was a success. Project X has no problem "borrowing" some ideas from a great party movie Superbad. This is obvious with the 3 main characters. Thomas, Costa and JB. They resemble their Superbad counterparts, Evan, Seth and McLovin respectably. It's not a carbon copy portrayal but you can get the feeling that the inspiration for these kids came from there. This was a good thing cause it helped the flow and tone of the movie with Costa being the star. He's got the funniest lines and played the wannabe gangsta with the right amount of balance to his regular high school kid. The film does a nice job giving each of the 3 amigos their due screen time and it plays well.

The only gripe I had was the film tried to inject some of the typical rom com crap that some of these party films have. This mostly revolves around Thomas and his quandary involving some women. These characters are always cookie cutter and for a movie like this with a premise like this, that storyline just didn't fit at all. Thankfully not a lot of time is spent on it otherwise we would be dealing with a major flaw. Otherwise, Project X does a nice job keeping things on an even keel. They promised craziness and it didn't disappoint. Trust me. You've never seen out of control like this. It was fun.

On the 5 star scale. Project X gets 3.5 stars with a "Go See It!" Recommendation.

I realize that this film is out already and possibly not playing anymore around you. But if you have a chance to check it out, give it a shot. If not wait for Netflix. You'll like it.

That's a wrap for today. Up next is Wrath of The Titans.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"