Trailer Hitch: Is ‘Project X’ the Found-Footage Teen Comedy You’ve Always Wanted?

Tim Grierson
·Editor

Fresh off the success of two "Hangover" films and "Due Date," director Todd Phillips would seemingly be able to make whatever movie he wanted at Warner Bros. He chose to produce a hush-hush comedy called "Project X" (directed by first-timer Nima Nourizadeh) that he said would feature "a new and interesting approach" to storytelling. Today, we saw the first trailer for the film, which is apparently one big blowout party movie. So why does it look a little like "Cloverfield"?

Trailer category: Mountain Dew-fueled teen comedy.
Major selling points: Lots of hot young boys and girls making out and not wearing much. Handheld cameras.
What successful movies are they trying to remind us of? "The Hangover." "Old School." "Superbad." "Cloverfield."
"Hey, (s)he's in this?" Since the cast is largely filled with unknowns, you probably won't recognize anyone in this clip .... wait, is that Miles Teller, the dorky Southern buddy in the new "Footloose"? Yep.
Line of dialogue that's really what the whole movie is about: "It was just supposed to be a small get-together ... then things got a little out of control."
Spoilage? Mild. Apparently, the high school student who organizes the house party is a bit of a nerd, but his all-night event inspires much intoxication, craziness and even a visit from riot police. Man, this party's so nuts even dogs are having sex in the trailer.
Enticement Percentage Increase: 25 percent. The only reason we know "Project X" is a comedy is because the vague plot description tells us it is. For a good portion of this trailer, we thought we were watching a found-footage horror movie in which an underage party turns deadly. (You know, we're kinda amazed no one hasn't thought of that yet.) But, no, this is supposed to be a wacky teen comedy where lots of inappropriate stuff happens. It does look like it's a riff on the found-footage conceit, though. Mostly, the trailer just tells us that this is going to be "edgy" and "insane." Honestly, our favorite part isn't any of the footage -- it's the opening MPAA rating that tells us all the reasons this movie is rated R. Maybe they should have just called it "Crude and Sexual Content Throughout, Nudity, Drugs, Drinking, Pervasive Language, Reckless Behavior and Mayhem -- All Involving Teens." Sure a lot more salable than "Project X," huh?

'Project X' Trailer: A Block-Rocking Mashup of 'Jackass' and 'The Hangover'? [/film]