The Kidd here...
It's natural to be envious of parties that take place in movies. They're made to look cool, and, with big budgets at their back, can make the unlikely pretty possible. Try to pull any of that off in your own house, and you wind up with a bunch of people standing around a folding table playing flip cup or chasing ping pong balls around the garage for the round robin section of your beer pong tournament. Plus, unless you're springing for escorts, there's no way you're going to get an entire crew of hot women to flock to your little soiree. On top of that, you're not hiring a DJ, so an iPod or that beat-up boombox will have to do for the music. If you really want to take it up a notch, you may bust out with the karaoke machine or some Rock Band, because that's about as wild and crazy as things might get. It's a little sad to think that's how we're raging in our regular lives, but that's how the real world operates.
That's why we're quite impressed when a movie is able to pull off one kick-ass party, because we imagine ourselves attending and having one hell of a time, living vicariously through its participants. Oh, sure... we've all drank too much in our prime at a social gathering, and these fictional events take us back to our war stories of pissing on the nicest parked car nearby (because there wasn't a bathroom in the vicinity and... well, fuck that BMW) or puking all that guy's backyard or our worst hangover. However, as you get older, you become farther removed from those times in your life, when you used to be able to hang all night. Unfortunately, there comes a time in everyone's life when you must come to realize that you can't party like you used to. Movie parties become a safe alternative for those of us who are sure we could still tear it up at a bar or club until close only to start feeling tired and ready before bed right around midnight.
There have been some pretty wild bashes committed to film - the toga party in ANIMAL HOUSE, Mitch-A-Palooza in OLD SCHOOL, the bachelor party in BACHELOR PARTY, that frat party with George Clinton in PCU, etc. - and, as small segments of larger movies, we've had a good time pretending to be a part of them in the moment, but none of them even come close to touching what PROJECT X manages to accomplish with its beginning-to-end party. This goes beyond crazy. It is raucous insanity taken to the extreme. It is balls to the wall, unfiltered, outrageous partying that absolutely blows away any shindig we've ever seen before. That high school get together in CAN'T HARDLY WAIT looks like a book club meeting compared to PROJECT X. Those kids were on the path to figuring out who they really were upon graduating high school over the course of one night. The kids in PROJECT X are simply on the path to getting laid, drunk and/or high, and their commitment to having an amazing time, no matter the cost, is infectious as you sit in the theatre, because their good time becomes your good time simply through observation.
PROJECT X is centered around three lovable losers - Thomas Kub (Thomas Mann), Costa (Oliver Cooper) and J.B. (Jonathan Daniel Brown). This small group of friends is beyond the outskirts of acceptable social circles at their Pasadena high school. They're beyond the nerds or the geeks. At least people know who those kids are. This trio isn't even high enough on the food chain to be recognized. They're anonymous, ghosts... no one pays them any attention, because they're not even worth the recognition. They're even below the handicapped kid at school, who is scoring more action from the girls than they are combined. Worse than being unpopular, they're nothing, nobodies.
It's time to shake things up a bit, which is why, for Thomas' 17th birthday, his two buddies decide this is the perfect opportunity to make a big play for some major attention. With Thomas' parents away for the weekend, why not put themselves on the map by throwing an epic party that'll have their peers remembering who the hell they are afterwards? This is their chance to change the game in their favor, only by the time they're done, they will have blown up the party game entirely and totally reinvented it.
PROJECT X is about the uncool trying to be cool, a story we've seen told quite a number of times, yet it never seems to get old. No matter how awesome or popular we think we are, there's always a level above that we wish to reach. It's so easy to identify with characters on such a mission, because we often feel uncool for whatever reason. Their successes mean potential success for us. We want them to break on through to the other side of cool, because it gives us hope that we can do the same.
What follows as they seek coolness is a party hopped up on crack that already took some speed after downing rounds upon rounds of shots that is running on pure adrenaline. We may be rooting for Thomas, J.B. and Costa to make it out of this party that continues to get awesome but far more out of control with each passing moment, but we're also hypnotized by the party itself, unable to take our eyes off the train wreck we know is inevitably going to get worse. This isn't merely a bunch of high school kids doing keg stands and tequila shots, although that's still a part of it. However, when you have two DJs, Playboy models, Miles Teller, a midget, a skateboarder who used your roof for a half-pipe, topless girls in both the pool and the bounce house, social media marketing, drugs, alcohol and a ton of people with no regard for other people's property, you're bound to unleash a party of massive proportions that borders on a riot.
There's not much story to follow in PROJECT X nor should you expect any major character arcs to bog down the party, which is truly the highlight of the entire film. The found footage style has been used and abused by everyone and anyone who wants to make a movie on the cheap in the hopes of turning a big profit, but, for PROJECT X, the gimmick works well, which is a credit to director Nima Nourizadeh. Much as you would expect from high schoolers, footage is being captured via cell phone, Flip cam and handheld videographer there to capture the guys' big night. As a result, the film is very organic, allowing you to watch this party grow over time, never feeling contrived or forced. It also thrusts you right into the action of the party, making PROJECT X not so much a movie but an experience. It's as if you're one of these party-goers and not just someone watching it transpire on-screen. The music will have you tapping your feet and nodding your head. You might even reach for your soda wishing there was some rum to go with that Coke, because that's the mood this fun film is able to stir within you.
The chemistry between Mann, Cooper and Brown puts you in the position of watching three guys you know in some aspect of your life. We all know the shy and reserved dude who's a lot cooler than he gives himself credit for. We know the fat kid who tags along and is part of the crowd, because of what a good friend he's always been. We also know the loudmouth instigator who talks so much shit about this or that but never has the stones to back any of it up with action, yet people continue to listen to him anyway. These are people we're all too familiar with, and we can see them up there on the screen involved in these shenanigans. These aren't necessarily character types, but they are personality types we recognize from our own circle of friends or our social interactions. We can see this entire situation playing out as it does, but, from a distance, it plays as entertainment, not as a sad state of affairs for the dumb bastard that got talked into having a monumental party at his house.
PROJECT X is really a fun watch, and an acceptable substitute for not being able to go out and do something better on a Friday or Saturday night. Its set-up is rather simple, and its execution is well done, transporting you from your theatre seat to one of the craziest parties I've ever seen. It'd be more work for you to not have a good time with PROJECT X than to just give into the hedonistic indulgence of cheering on people behaving beyond badly, something that's perfectly acceptable in this setting but would make you a horrible person if in the flesh.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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