Project X Pictures
Produced by todd phillips and directed by nourizadeh this insane party film has to be seen to be believed. It asks the question: Have teens always been this irresponsible?
The main characters are unrepentantly vile, venal brats with sub-Kardashian swagger. They wreck houses, turn communities into war zones and shrug their shoulders with louche indifference.
The Story
Taking inspiration from real-life events, Project X is one of the most entertaining and chaotic found footage movies to hit theaters. It follows three high school seniors trying to make a name for themselves by throwing the best party ever. Featuring an insane cast of characters, this movie is sure to have you laughing from start to finish.
The film opens with Thomas (Thomas Mann), J.B. (Jonathan Daniel Brown), and Costa (Oliver Cooper) making their way to a local supermarket to stock up on supplies for the big night. While there, they run into Miles (Miles Teller), a friend of theirs who is planning to attend the party as well.
When the boys see him, they know that they’re in for a treat. Then, things really begin to kick into high gear. Soon, what starts as a small gathering at Thomas’ parents’ house explodes into an out-of-control party complete with police helicopters and a stolen garden gnome that’s full of MDMA.
The Cast
Three seemingly anonymous high school seniors attempt to make a name for themselves by throwing an epic party. They are unaware that this party will go way beyond their wildest dreams. Word spreads fast, as dreams are ruined and legends are born.
Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, and Jonathan Daniel Brown star as the three main characters in Project X, which chronicles (in found footage style) the hijinks of a high school party that gets completely out of control. A nationwide open casting call was held to find the actors, with some having no acting experience at all.
The movie was filmed in the town of Granada Hills, Los Angeles County, California, as well as in nearby Burbank. Granada Hills is known for its wide variety of recreational facilities and sports programs. Miles Teller, of the movie Rabbit Hole, makes a cameo as himself. Other notable members of the cast are Brady Hender and Nick Nervies, as Everett and Tyler, Costa’s dwarf guests; and Martin Klebba, as drug dealer T-Rick.
The Director
Director Nima Nourizadeh, who has a degree in art and design from UCLA, was inspired to make this film after a trip to Morocco. Filming was done in the style of an amateur home video, and Todd Phillips (The Hangover) served as a producer. The movie was released nationwide on March 2, 2012, and grossed over $3 million.
Project X is a squalid little piece of cinetrash, shamelessly going for the base stuff and tapping into genre traditions laid down by American Pie, Judd Apatow movies, and The Hangover. It would be self-deluded to pretend that this jumble of crotch shots and ecstasy is anything other than repulsive. But it is funny, and sometimes that’s enough. It’s also ugly, both in its look and its outlook.
The Rating
Produced by Todd Phillips, who made the always hilarious South Park and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Project X is a movie you either love or hate. It’s not really a teen sex comedy as much as it is a hyperbolic teen party come to life and a “what if” fantasy gone very, very wrong.
This is a movie that revels in its crudeness. The characters, played by newcomers Oliver Cooper and Jonathan Brown, are spectacularly unlikeable; the kind of nihilistic, venal, animalistic, charmless brats who can wreck lives and cause millions in property damage and shrug their shoulders with a louche indifference. They are Ferris Bueller ain’t.
The chief strength of the film is its use of the first person/found footage gimmick, although this wears thin after the novelty has worn off. It’s also difficult to become invested in the characters, which is a huge problem given that the chief plot device is their resolute stupidity.