PROJECT X DVD (2012)
SYNOPSIS: Project X follows three seemingly anonymous high school seniors as they attempt to finally make a name for themselves. Their idea is innocent enough - Let's throw a party that no one will forget - but nothing could prepare them for this party. Word spreads quickly as dreams are ruined, records are blemished and legends are born.
MOVIE REVIEW:
You know what it feels like to party your heart out, get wasted and not remember anything at all the next morning except the fact that you’ve just had an awesome night? Well that about sums up the kind of experience “Project X” aims to deliver. As far as shallow movies go, this pretty much takes the cake; but if you’re just looking to have a smashing good party, then well you won’t get any more epic than this movie.
The plotting is simple – under the guise of celebrating Thomas’ 17th year-old birthday, his friends Costa and JB decide to organise a party and invite the whole school. The only problem is that they aren’t exactly the most popular kids around, so Costa basically issues an open invite to anyone and everyone out there (including blasting a notice on Craig’s List) to come to Thomas’ residence and have the most epic party of their lives.
Of course it just so happens that Thomas was born on the same day as his parents’ wedding anniversary, so instead of celebrating with Thomas, they have taken the weekend off to celebrate their own occasion. Instead of the fifty-plus people Thomas had intended, attendance swells into the hundreds, with almost every young and hot-blooded male and female teenager in the neighbourhood turning up under the promise of booze, drugs and music.
Predictably, things go south very quick. First, their sheer numbers means that the backyard isn’t enough space for all of them, so they start spilling into the house. Then the two 13-year old guards Costa hires to manage entry into the party start getting over-enthusiastic about their job, going to the extent of breaking and entering the house of one of the neighbours who have called the police about the noise.
But all of that seems trivial when a true anarchist turns up in the normally quiet Pasadena neighbourhood looking for Costa - after the latter steals his Christmas gnome while buying weed from him – and uses his blowtorch to set fire to trees and cars along the road. Soon the damage isn’t just to Thomas’ house but to each and every one of the houses in the neighbourhood which are plummeted by water bombs dropped by helicopters to put out the raging blaze.
It’s utter chaos we warn you – but if you are going to start nit-picking on Matt Drake and Michael Bacall’s script about just how realistic all that mayhem really is, then you’re already barking up the wrong tree. Indeed, all they and producer Todd Phillips intend to do is to let you see just how memorable the party of your life can be, and all you are called to do is just to sit back and enjoy it vicariously – especially since law and order officials are not going to see it kindly if they do it for real.
If you see it in that light, then first-time director Nima Nourizadeh guarantees that you’ll have a great time. Besides the endless flow of booze you wish you have, there are also the plentiful boob sightings whether in the pool where a ‘Naked Girls Only’ sign has been affixed or in the inflatable bounce house where you can watch them literally (ahem) bouncing. And oh did we mention our lead character Thomas also gets a free hookup with the supposedly hottest girl in school?
What happens after the night is over? Well certainly such reckless abandon cannot be without its consequences, and if the movie kind of whitewashes it all, it’s because it was only constructed with that kind of responsibility in the first place. All it promises is a heady night of fun you’d wish you’d had – for many, we suspect, that’s enough; and for everyone else, you’re better off finding another Project.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The 5-min long featurette ‘The Pasadena Three’ explains how the actors were chosen among unknown hopefuls for their respective roles. Wisely, the actors very much resemble their roles, so any knowledge of acting need be minimal.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The audio aspect on the whole fairs much better than the visual presentation. The latter featuring plenty of night scenes proves to be quite a hindrance and without the sonic ambient effects, you can’t really make up the action happening on the screen.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Gabriel Chong
