Movie rating: 4 Star

Project X

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It really is a shame that the mystery surrounding films has vanished - that's the price of the internet, really. Yet every once in a while, an enigmatic production shows up apparently out of nowhere. Project X has a very simple urban legend-based concept. A bunch of uncool kids have a party that gets completely out of hand, and the whole thing is filmed by a pal to serve as evidence of their newfound coolness. Playing like the missing bits of The Hangover crossed with Superbad and filtered through The Inbetweeners, this is wonderfully unhinged and consistently hilarious stuff.

Thomas, even by his own father's admission, is not a cool kid. Largely overlooked in high school, he and his boisterous buddy Costa and introverted pal JB plan a social gathering of some of the cooler kids in school. But as more and more people turn up to the party, Thomas begins to panic and the whole street is taken over by rowdy party animals attending what becomes the shindig of the decade.

It's worth pointing out that all of the main cast use their real names, and the vibe here is very much that of a documentary. There are a couple of very slick montages, but for the most part, it's the same kind of execution you've seen in monster flicks (Cloverfield) and superhero movies (Chronicle) before. If you have a sense of deja-vu about the whole thing, you may have seen some of debut British director Nourizadeh's previous work - he directed that Adidas "party" ad with a slew of celebrities. Producer Todd Phillips apparently saw that, and decided he was the perfect man to helm this movie. Having sat through it, his logic is hard to fault.

It's fair to say that Project X isn't exactly a groundbreaking, or even a very good movie. The plot is extremely basic, and the tacked-on friend-that-could-be-a-girlfriend thread is there simply to provide a more amiable ending. But, as a party movie that's main focus is to entertain and amuse, it is an absolute blast and almost ridiculously enjoyable. The three main cast members are note perfect in their roles, and crucially, they actually look like teens. Oliver Cooper, in particular, should see a healthy career bump on the back of his very funny work; he owns the obligatory 'crass friend' role.

The kind of film that will make pre-drinks before a night out much more enjoyable for years to come, Project X is both very funny, and very fun.

Story by Mike Sheridan | 14:31 | Wednesday 27th June 2012 | DVD review

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Comments

• StephenB

  Horribly misogynistic, crude, mean-spirited and worst of all, not funny. Its like looking in the window of a party where everyone is having the obnoxious time of their life and you''re not allowed in. The ending is crazy-insulting, like a teenagers wet dream.

  Posted 11:32 | Fri 6th Jul 2012

• sr

  Not great, did nothing for me at all and just wanted it to end.... 4/10

  Posted 09:27 | Wed 15th Aug 2012

• Bowlardo

  Mike Sheridan what are you talking about? I hope you don't receive any sort of income for your reviews on this website. I rented this based on the 4 stars you gave it. I am with StephenB, SR and Angry on this one. It should have got one star and even that is a sympathy star "this is wonderfully unhinged and consistently hilarious stuff." how ,where , & when in this film is there anything remotely funny? "Oliver Cooper, in particular, should see a healthy career bump on the back of his very funny work; he owns the obligatory 'crass friend' role" Would you fancy a wager on this? If he is in any more films of any note (and that is a really big if) I can 100% guarantee it will be utter tosh.

  Posted 17:39 | Sat 12th Jan 2013

• Angry

  I Joined this website just to leave this message. It was the 5 stars recommendation that got me to watch this movie. It was without a doubt the worst movie i have seen in years. Please take my advise and avoid.

  Posted 13:36 | Sat 8th Sep 2012

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