PROJECT X

A Raving Poster Artwork

title: PROJECT X
year: 2012
cast: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper
rating: ***

In this movie… Or, at this party… Character names really don’t matter. There’s the kid whose parents left him their house for the weekend. And he has three faithful buddies: The confident instigator; the dorky fatso; and a faceless camera operator who captures everything. The “all you see is being filmed” device ala CHRONICLE works nicely here, making the inevitable suburban bash feels like it’s right in your face – and you don’t even need 3D glasses. But while the party is key, some of the best scenes occur beforehand. As the popularity-seeking geeks set things in motion, from getting the word out to ripping off a "loaded" garden gnome from an urban drug dealer, we get to know these underdog losers enough to where, once the raging party occurs, their winning matters. While the cocky Oliver Cooper delivers the scene stealing role – think of a younger Vince Vaughan in SWINGERS – the heart and soul belongs to Thomas Mann, providing the essential drool-to-cool story arc. It’s his birthday party after all, which occurs in montage tidbits ranging from naked girls to a midget locked inside a stove, and fireworks and even a flamethrower. And while the intensity increases a bit too quickly… the party morphing into an act of terrorism within a ten-minute time frame… it’s never a drag. Yet what remains consistent throughout all the noise are the characters we’ve grown comfortable with. All leading to a weak and implausible resolution. Although the aftermath really doesn’t matter. Leave all that consequence stuff for THE HANGOVER.