Filmofilia.com

Producer Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Old School) and director Nima Nourizadeh have turned up the intensity of the teen movie. Project X is Superbad for 2012; it’s edgy and the war cry of a generation.

 The film is the story of 17-year-old Thomas, whose “small get together” quickly turns into the century’s most chaotic party. It’s also the tale of a licentious, debauched group that sacrifices a college fund for the sake of this one-night insanity. Project X is somewhat questionable in its portrayal of mind-numbingly reckless teens and its lack of character development. Some will see sleazy, others will see sexy. Whichever one it is, Project X can lead to some interesting post-viewing debates.

 Viewers follow four average high school losers through the party they wanted to host as a “game changer.” To kickstart the party, Costa, Thomas’s hasty and obnoxious friend, pours four shots, one of which he hands over to the camera man, symbolically inviting the audience to drink with them. Cars arrive, hip teens come in large numbers, and quickly the house is packed; alcohol flows and girls denude.

 The entire movie is filmed by a handheld camera, reducing the distance between the audience and the characters to almost nothing, creating a spectator’s experience of the party. All the frames are skilfully trendy and provocative enough that it gives the average insipid teen movie an artistic spin and some much-needed flavour. The audience experiences the party with these teens: the slick combination of handheld shooting, moments of intense music, and overcrowded frames drags the viewer into the madness of a provocative party. The soundtrack alternates between indie electro  and hip-hop party tracks with the Kid Cudi/MGMT/Ratatat collaboration “The Pursuit of Happiness” serving as the anthem of the movie.

 The chaotic atmosphere is all the more real when the host’s anxiety increases with the increasingly uncontrollable mayhem. The audience is on edge alongside the characters as we see constant reminders that what these kids live through is often wrong, abusive, and immoral. The neighbours and the police snap us out of simply enjoying the decadent youth and propel the film into a strange suspense that is further emphasized by an unstable and fast-paced mood. The party grows in size as Thomas’ house becomes overcrowded, his father’s car is submerged in the family pool, and Thomas self-medicates with ecstasy.

Beyond the party frenzy, however, the film emphasizes both an aesthetic style and debauched youth trying to define themselves. Project X can’t be taken too seriously. Whether it really takes burning your neighbourhood down to get noticed at school is not the point. It’s fun, it’s entertaining, and it’s provocative. Perhaps the true virtuosos are the marketing team behind Project X who understood that this is the type of movie that the teen audience wants.