Project X (2012)

Project X shoots a birthday party like a found-footage disaster movie, and the disaster is the guest list. Three nobodies try to become legends at school overnight, a quiet kid films everything, and the night snowballs from awkward to wild to news helicopters circling a Pasadena suburb. As a stunt, it’s impressive. The handheld camera drops you in the middle of the yard, and the escalation is legit something to watch. As a movie, it’s empty. Oliver Cooper’s Costa is a fast-talking hype man with zero brakes, and the script treats him as lovable when he’s mostly exhausting. Thomas Mann is likable as the birthday kid in way over his head, and Kirby Bliss Blanton gives the film its only real warmth. Nobody learns anything, which the movie seems to think is the point. It made $102.7 million worldwide on a reported $12M. A 3.8 because the spectacle is real and nobody at the party is worth knowing. $5,149 says the next time a neighbor hosts a backyard birthday, you peek out the window to count the cars.

What works: The found-footage style makes the party’s escalation feel huge and chaotic, and Kirby Bliss Blanton brings real warmth.

What doesn’t: The characters are thin and mostly obnoxious, and the movie never gives anyone a reason to care what happens to them.

Who it’s for: Viewers who want to watch the party they’d never be allowed to throw, from the safety of the couch.