Project X Review

I give “Project X” credit; it throws one hell of a high school party.

 One that keeps expanding as the night goes on to the point of total chaos. Complete with all the usual things like naked girls, drinking and drugs, and then other crazy things such as a little person who kicks people in the testicles in an oven, or a crazy crack dealer with a flamethrower and it’s all presented in mockumentary format. So it’s like “The Blair Witch Project” meets “Super Bad.”

There’s something to be said for that, I guess. No other guy comedy, not “The Hangover,” “Super Bad,” or “American Pie” has delivered such an epic party. However that’s also the problem with Nima Nourizadeh’s directorial debut. It’s all party.

There’s a few introductory scenes leading up to it and few after to conclude the movie but other than that it’s partying. Naked woman jumping in the air, boozing, dancing. It is sort of fun, and if you’ve gone to a lot of parties I’m sure you’ll enjoy it quite a bit. But other than that there’s not much going on.

It revolves around three high school friends, the shy, nerdy one Thomas (Thomas Mann) the angst-y, obnoxious smart talker Costa (Oliver Cooper) and the fat harmless nerd J.B (Jonathan Daniel Brown) who want to throw the party for Thomas’s birthday, in an attempt to be more popular at school. All three of these guys are nothing but caricatures, in fact while watching Cooper I was reminded of Jonah Hill in “Super Bad,” except Hill was far more likable.

The thing that made movies like “The Hangover,” or “Super Bad” work is that they had more of a purpose. Believe it or not they took us on a journey. “Project X” doesn’t take us on a journey, it doesn’t take us anywhere. There are attempts to give it more substance, like the idea that throwing a party to be more popular is incredibly pathetic but it’s glossed over. And as interesting as the mockumentary format is, in the end not much is done with it. It’s like Nourizadeh took “Super Bad” dumbed it down and shot it with a home video camera. Big deal.

I know for a fact that “Project X” will have it’s following. Any and all high school kids who party like the ones in the movie will love every second of it. I admit, there are a few moments of funny; such as anything involving Thomas’s dog but for the most part it’s worthless and I don’t see why anyone would want to watch it again. You’d be better off throwing your own party instead.