“Found camera footage” is one of the most overrated ways to
shoot a movie these days. Some movies get it right. Chronicle, Cloverfield, The
Devil Inside and, of course, Paranormal Activity all make this shooting style
seem really attractive. But you could tell that there was some real structure
and real storytelling that was going on with those movies. That is somewhat
what I expected with Project X. Some type of “teen coming of age” story that
would basically be Superbad with a handycam….and I couldn’t have been more
wrong. This movie lacks everything that makes a good teen movie and replaces it
with the glorification of everything that is wrong with teen culture these days.
Storyline: 3 high school seniors throw a birthday party to
make a name for themselves. As the night progresses, things spiral out of
control as word of the party spreads. – IMDB.com
Thoughts?
First of all, the movie is not funny. Sure. There are a few
(very few) moments that will get a laugh, but it is mostly just stupid.
Second, the teens are sooooooo stereotypical. The loveable
geek with the hot “friend” that he will inevitably screw things up with, the
foul mouthed best friend that pushes the main character into doing things that
he doesn’t want to do (but ultimately the main character embraces) and the
nerdy sidekick that always says/does the wrong thing for no other reason than
to make the audience laugh. These are the same tired clichés that we have seen
over and over again. The problem is that other movies do it better. Superbad, Old
School, The Hangover and a handful of other movies not only fill the same roles
(maybe not for teens) but they do it much better and without the trickery of
“lost footage” sales hype OR by glorifying drugs/alcohol/sex/slutty teen girls
is a realistic way. I know you might be thinking…”um, all of those movies do
that to some degree”. And you would be right. But my reply would be that those
movies do not do so with the added realism that is usually associated with
“found footage” video and is also so overdramatically played that you do not
get any sense of realize from it. This movie does not present itself in such a
way and I think that there is a pretty distinct difference there. *spoiler alert* After the antics of the teens
destroys the entire town the dad of the main perpetrator basically give his son
a “high five” and says “wow. Never knew you had this in ya, champ. Let’s go get
a double scoop of ice cream to reward you for being a very stupid kid that
contributed to the destruction of a town AND for supplying all of this towns
kids (even the underaged) with drugs). You are awesome. “ *End of spoiler*
Finally, the characters are not well developed and not well
acted. The teens that are being portrayed are, what I imagine, would be the
worst possible versions of real teens. If I am wrong, then a LOT has changed
since I was a teen.
So, if you can’t tell from my above statement, I
would not recommend this movie. It is a waste of money and time. 
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