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Todd Philips Completely Abandons The Concepts Of Story Or Comedy For The Sake Of Showcasing Nubile Flesh

By Rob Payne | Posted Under Trailers | Comments (11)

pajibaprojectxtrailer.jpg

In case you aren’t aware, Todd Philips is the comic mastermind behind such modern classics as Road Trip, The Hangover, Due Date, and The Hangover II. I’m as surprised as you are that I’m only being half sarcastic. But where previously Philips gave credence to the semblance of storytelling and vague, broad, and uneven character development, he’s now lent his name to a movie that wears its rawer appeals on its beer stained sleeve.

Project X looks to be another one of those “found footage” indies that tries to capitalize on the easy cheapness of faux documentary narratives without doing much more than just being found footage of one teen’s best/worst night of his life. Following the course of one high school misfit’s attempt to become popular with a party to end all parties, the trailer starts off seeming to be a dark confessional before offering its only punchline (in what appears to be a movie advertising itself s a teen comedy) by cutting directly to a rambunctious “celebration” of teenage debauchery. It then transfers almost as jarringly into the party becoming a literal riot, with a hint of the ramifications of that dark turn.

It really isn’t as interesting or effective as it might sound:

I’m not sure how someone can take the premise of Girls Gone Wild meets American Pie meets Cloverfield and make it look that grossly meh, but evidence of it being possible is plain for all to see. Even as it seems to distill the American Dream down to its core of seeing pretty young people engage in naughty acts that it publicly flogs, Project X is trying so hard as to simply being a turn-off. Plus, there’s that whole moral ambiguity of depicting underage sex for almost purely salacious reasons. But considering how Todd Philips normally makes his money, it was probably just a matter of time.

Rob Payne also writes the indie comic The Unstoppable Force and tweets on the Twitter @RobOfWar. He enjoys having his cake and eating it, too. Though that merely means he always buys two cakes.









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Comments

If I want (ugh) closeup shots up somebody's nose, I'll just go watch "Blair Witch" again.

Posted by: , at November 3, 2011 11:11 AM

Isn't Project X already a tragic movie about unfortunate test apes staring Matthew Broderick before he got all married and puffy?

Posted by: JenVegas at November 3, 2011 11:24 AM

It looks like it'll do really well. Good for them.

Stories like this one bother me. The socially fucked are lonely and reclusive for a reason, it's not just bad luck. If you're cool, it's not because of how you look or how much money you have, it's because you can talk to people and you're comfortable around people (and people are comfortable around you).

But if you're socially fucked, you're not going to be comfortable or fun at a party like this, even if you're the guy who threw it. You're going to be awkward and nervous and everyone will continue to wish you weren't there.

If, by some miracle (like a crazy stunt or some shit), you get in good with everyone for a while, you won't know what to do with all the attention and won't be able to run with the new social situations that come up.

It's just silly to me that the majority of stories depict everyone as internally socially normal, and their external circumstances are based entirely on luck.

Posted by: Lucas at November 3, 2011 11:24 AM

Gaaaaah I am sick and fucking TIRED of all these goddamn male-oriented films, teenage and otherwise, that present "getting women" like a plastic toy you get at the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks. Like the acquisition of a "sexy" woman is on par with buying a nice watch. I am not here to be sported! I know there is nothing new to my argument but why does this shit keep happening!

Putos and pendejos, just because you throw a rad party doesn't mean I want to fuck you. Get your head out of your ass and your hand back in your pants because you're certainly not geting any from me.

Posted by: Donut Plains at November 3, 2011 11:24 AM

Plus, there’s that whole moral ambiguity of depicting underage sex for almost purely salacious reasons.

Thank you for saying that. I can't believe someone would depict high school children* having sex in a salacious way! I'm shocked.

Jesus, what do you think of Porky's?

Honestly, though, I didn't think that looked as bad as you made it out to be. Also, it looks to be a sort of found footage hybrid. There is definitely a spotlight in the center for most of the shots, but not the one where his dad is calling him and there is a helicopter shot, too. I could see this being a 16/17 year-old's American Pie/whatever-teen-comedy-with-nudity-you-watched-as-a-16/17-year-old.

* - children, for god's sake!

Posted by: pissant at November 3, 2011 11:40 AM

Micheal Becall (who wrote the screenplay for Scott Pilgram), must have picked up "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" by Tucker Max before writing this screenplay. It smacks of a crooked mix of Revenge of the Nerds and Gus Van Sant. I'm not particularly interested in the movie itself, but am worried about the intended audience and this movie's effect it might have on them.

Posted by: Asvetic at November 3, 2011 11:47 AM

I once staved off the loneliness of being single with a decoder ring from a Cracker Jack box. I was left with red marks that kept reminding me to drink my Ovaltine.

Posted by: Jim Doggie at November 3, 2011 11:57 AM

Donut Plains went on a rant...

::golf clap::

Posted by: DeistBrawler at November 3, 2011 12:09 PM

There ain't no Coupe De Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box.

But I did get a Cracker Jane once ...

Posted by: , at November 3, 2011 12:20 PM

@DeistBrawler
Godtopuss forbid a Pajiba reader should feel the need to make a comment about an article in the comments section.

Like I said -- not a new argument, but movies like this keep the old rants relevant.

Also, I wanted to say "putos and pendejos".

Posted by: Donut Plains at November 3, 2011 1:37 PM

Well, that just filled me with meh.

If it was a party that got kind of out of control, yeah - fine. But...did I see soldiers, and a dude with a flamethrower?

Count me out.

Posted by: Shane at November 3, 2011 8:18 PM