Review:
"Project X"
Release Date: March 2, 2012
Rating: R Running Time: 88 minutes By all means, fight for your right to party—please just stop short of turning your neighborhood into a war zone. In the “found-footage” teen sex romp Project X, three dumb high school nerds host a house party with an open guest list. It ends in a tense showdown between the horny revelers and riot police officers. Not that anyone in their right mind would suspect that the party, held to celebrate the birthday of one of these unpopular students, would get so out of control. If the boy’s father thinks he’s a loser, why would anyone waste their time coming to the party? Well, they do, and the next thing you know the deejay’s spinning cool tunes, the beer’s flowing, and the pool’s overrunning with topless barely legal girls. A student videographer captures the fun and mayhem with all the dedication of a war correspondent. Directed by Nima Nourizadeh in obvious “fly on the wall” fashion, Project X has little on its mind other than sex, drugs, and the wanton destruction of property. This hardly comes as a surprise considering The Hangover’s Todd Phillip produced Project X, and it often plays out like an unwanted Wolfpack prequel. Nourizadeh brings a lot of energy to the often amusing chaos he creates, but his realistic approach to staging the party is negated by the unbelievable turn of events that results in half of a Pasadena suburb going up in flames. Also, Project X lacks boasts a terrible misogynistic streak that cannot be ignored and all but scoffs at holding the relevant parties responsible for the consequences of their actions and poor judgment. Project X also distinguishes itself from the likes of Animal House, Porky’s, and American Pie by forcing us to spend time in the company of the three unlikable dorks who deserve to remain virgins the rest of their miserable lives. The birthday boy (Thomas Mann) is an indecisive, oblivious wimp who doesn’t realize his best gal pal wants to be more than friends. His buddy (Jonathan Daniel Brown) exists in Project X solely to be ridiculed because he’s overweight and somewhat slow. The worst offender, though, is Oliver Cooper’s sickening Jewish stereotype. Everything that comes out of Cooper’s fast-talking Queens transplant is intended to annoy or offend. Together, these three morons suck the life out of one crazy party. Robert Sims Aired: March 1, 2012 Web site: http://projectxmovie.warnerbros.com/dvd/site/ |
|