RECENTLY VIEWED: PROJECT X

My son is not a movie person, so when this 15 year old kid wanted to watch a movie with the family, I jumped on it. The movie he picked is not for the faint of heart. It is n Fred Astaire musical. There are adult themes, langauage, and nudity. However, the movie Project X was a pretty good movie overall. Project X is a 2012 American found footage teen comedy film directed by Nima Nourizadeh, written by Michael Bacall and Matt Drake and produced by Todd Phillips. The film follows three friends—Thomas (Thomas Mann), Costa (Oliver Cooper) and J.B. (Jonathan Daniel Brown)—who attempt to gain popularity by throwing a party, a plan which quickly escalates out of their control. Kirby Bliss Blanton, Dax Flame, Brady Hender, Nick Nervies, Alexis Knapp, and Miles Teller also star.

The title Project X was initially a placeholder for a final title, but interest generated by the secretive title kept it in place. A nationwide open casting call was employed to find fresh faces. The majority of the cast were sourced from this casting call, but a few with prior acting credits, such as Mann, were accepted after multiple auditions. Filming took place on sets in Los Angeles over five weeks on a US$12 million budget. The film is presented as a home movie from the perspective of an attendee using a camera to document the night's events.

Project X was released theatrically in the United States on March 2, 2012, and grossed $102 million worldwide during its theatrical run. Criticism focused on the "loathsome" behavior of the lead characters and the disregard for the effects of drug use. Other reviews considered it funny and thrilling, and equated it to a modern incarnation of National Lampoon's Animal House. Following its release, organizers of various large-scale parties either referenced or used the film as inspiration, with some parties being directly named after the film.

Despite the criticism, Project X grossed $54.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $48 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $102.7 million, against a budget of $12 million.The film opened to $1.2 million in midnight takings from 1,003 theaters in the United States and Canada. Throughout its opening day, the film's release was expanded to 3,055 theaters, where it grossed a total of $8.2 million including midnight takings. The end of the opening weekend saw the film take a total of $21 million—an average of $6,891 per theater—finishing as the number-two-grossing film of the weekend behind the animated family film The Lorax ($70.2 million), and exceeding expectations that it would finish with a gross in the mid- to high teens. Project X was highly popular with males and youth; 58 percent of the opening-weekend audience for the film was male, and 67 percent of the audience was under the age of 25.

Again, if you have an issue seeing real life depicted on film, then do not watch the film. There were some general laughs and heart warming moments. Good or bad, this is how teenagers are today. The film is already 13 years old, but it resonates today. I enjoyed the film, but my son is NEVER allowed to have a party at our house...

MY RATING: 8 OF OUT OF 10