Project X (2012)

Party movies have been a dying breed in cinema, and the last film that really hit home with the majority of audiences was the beloved summer 2007 hit “Superbad.” Arriving to try and steal its thunder though, is the raunchy found footage party movie “Project X.” Vastly marketed as “the party movie to end all party movies,” Project X though is a tragic portrait of the stupidity of certain teenage demographics that really shows how downward this current generation has gone in terms of both culture and intelligence.

Opening with an insultingly inept disclaimer that Warner Bros. “thanks those who contributed footage to the making of this film,” the film quickly cuts to Costa, who’s planning a massive 17^th birthday party for his friend Thomas. After lots of preparation and spreading word-of-mouth, the party kicks off and hundreds of people show up, which later leads to complete chaos that threatens the entire street that the party’s taking place on. 

The three lead characters are played by rookie actors, and they all do an okay job at best with their performances. Except for the character of Thomas, nearly every other character is a despicable representation of this current teenage generation.

The character Costa for instance, is one of the most annoying, mean-spirited characters I have ever seen in a film. Throughout the film, he does nothing more than deliver repetitive, foul-mouthed lines of dialogue, deliberately insults anyone who gets in his way and acts like a complete jackass when the longer the party goes on. I have seen some pretty annoying characters in my life for the endless amount of movies I’ve seen, but I honestly wanted to stab this kid in his vocal cords with an ice pick because he annoyed the hell out of me to such an immense degree!

The first thirty minutes of this movie that built up to the party itself had me wanting to walk of the theater already. All that it does is showcase one idiotic act of behavior after another, in which all of the highlight the incredibly mean-spirited, annoying nature that nearly every teenager in this movie portrays. 

The movie didn’t generate any entertainment for me until the cops first arrived at the party. After that scene, the film slowly transcends into the complete chaos that you see in the trailers, and it delivers on the insanity to an extent. Unfortunately, the shock value of that chaos is ruined because it was already heavily spoiled in the marketing, which also goes the same for the unexpected occurrences that happen at the party.

Furthermore, the found footage aspect doesn’t do anything new to the genre as a whole. One of the trio’s friends is filming the majority of the film, but that tactic is overshadowed by the cutting to other people’s phone cameras and camcorders, in addition to the numerous montages set to popular music. The utilization of those montages took me further out of the experience, and it gave me the feeling that I was watching a music video instead of an actual movie.

The worst part of “Project X” though, is the message that it delivers in the end, saying that it’s okay to do everything that these inanely idiotic teenagers did at the party. Whether it’s the non-stop drinking, ecstasy use, or even tying a dog to a set of balloons, it sends such a bad message to teenagers that these acts are actually considered acceptable to conduct.

What pisses me off the most about this film though, are the comparisons it’s receiving to “Superbad.” Those comparisons have zero relevance to each other though, because “Superbad” was albeit a raunchy, hilarious high school movie that had heart within the friendship of the lead characters. “Project X” on the other hand, doesn’t showcase that heart, and instead submerges itself within the idiocracies that have sadly shaped certain aspects of this current teen generation.

Despite very few moments of amusement in the chaos caused towards the end, “Project X” is one of the most annoying, mean-spirited, unfunny movies I’ve ever seen. If you’re the party-type of person this movie’s aimed toward, you’re bound to enjoy it. Me on the other hand, I’d just rather watch “Animal House” or “Superbad” again.

Final Grade: D

Review of "Project X" on Youtube