Movies: Project X
Friday, March 2, 2012
(From left) JB (Jonathan Daniel Brown) and Costa (Oliver Cooper) decide to help Thomas (Thomas Mann) celebrate his 18th birthday with a very special party.
Photo: Beth Dubber, © 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
In Melbourne, Australia, in 2008, a kid threw himself a birthday party. Word got out and, not only did upwards of 500 people show up, but the kid was fined $18,000 for damages inflicted on his neighborhood. But that’s not all. Some people in the United States had an idea: take that party, make it bigger and even louder than it probably was and turn it into a film.
Thus, Project X, which opens today, came into being.
Here, it’s Thomas’ (Thomas Mann) 18th birthday and, alas, he still has not had sex. So his best friends, Costa (Oliver Cooper) and JB (Jonathan Daniel Brown) decide to remedy the situation by throwing him an “epic” birthday bash where he is sure to remedy his situation.
They spread the word via invites at school, social media, Craigslist and, even, by calling a local radio station. Of course, you know what happens — there’s a mob scene. Neighbors complain and cops come. The boys even offend a local drug dealer and he shows up, too, with a flamethrower.
In short, it’s quite a party. But not in a good party way.
And, it’s quite a film, too. But not in a good film way.
Project X has its moments of some amusement, I guess. But the handheld camera wielded by the boys’ friend Dax (Dax Flame) makes it a bit nauseating to watch with all the jerky camerawork. And the fact that it is an oft-repeated fact that Costa and JB are Jewish (Costa is from Queens as we hear very often) isn’t necessary and may be sort of insulting to his co-religionists.
With a script by Matt Drake and Michael Bacall, the film was directed by first-timer Nima Nourizadeh and how he managed to direct that constant swirling tide of humanity is a minor wonder. Among the producers are Todd Phillips (the Hangover movies) and Joel Silver (he of numerous blockbuster action flicks). With them on board, one must wonder why this movie was made.
Well, no. I take that back Project X, with all the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, was make to draw in the high school audience. It will undoubtedly accomplish its purpose.
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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