We’ve all had that “one crazy night” that’s been captured on film in movies like Superbad, Bachelor Party, After Hours, and The Hangover. But no matter how wild your endeavors may have been in the past, the events of Project X top them all.

Pasadena kid Thomas (Thomas Mann) has big plans for his 17th birthday, which happens to take place over the weekend when his parents (Caitlin Dulany, Peter MacKenzie) will be out of town. Truthfully, his plans aren’t so big, but his best friend Costa (Oliver Cooper) is determined to build the party of the century and catapult the two of them to superstardom among their high school peers. Thomas is willing to go along for the ride, doubting anyone will show up even after all of Costa’s campus publicity. The hapless nerd is happily proven wrong when droves of partiers turn out at his house and waste no time turning it into an orgy. Basking in their newfound popularity, Thomas and his pals can’t really complain as things get bigger and bigger. Even so, the raucous shindig quickly gets out of control, and Thomas’ worries about explaining everything to his parents become minimal compared to the reactions of neighbors and police.

One of the few people in the cast to already have something on his acting résumé, Mann is comparable to Tom Cruise in Risky Business and Emile Hirsch in The Girl Next Door as the golden boy who finally cuts loose for the first time in his high school career and does it hard. And, if you thought dancing in the living room in your skivvies or dating a reformed porn star was big, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Novice actor Cooper also fills a time-honored role as the asshole best friend everyone has, who keeps the action going strong, whether it’s picking fights with neighbors or assuaging the main character that no matter what horrible disaster happens, they can fix it. Yeah, good luck with that, in this instance. Fellow debuting thespian Jonathan Daniel Brown balances out Costa’s gung ho attitude as cautious, chunky tritagonist J.B., a nervous Nellie who takes more than a few big risks throughout the night. And, in case any of them want to relive the madness, they can always check the tape, documented by mostly silent cameraman Dax (Dax Flame).

There’s never any doubt that this is all staged, and if you were let down when you found out Cloverfield, The Blair Witch Project, and the Paranormal Activity movies weren’t actually made of found footage, get ready to be disappointed again. The faux cinéma vérité, that’s been the genre du jour lately, works extraordinarily well as a comedy, following this year’s Chronicle in proving you don’t just have to use the style strictly for horror shows.

It doesn’t take much to capture the ultimate in teenage debauchery, and shots of a massive crowd of drunken idiots let you feel like you’re part of this big bash. Add in skateboarders on the roof, a flying dog, Taser-happy 12-year-olds running security, two different girls (Kirby Bliss Blanton, Alexis Knapp) hot for the birthday boy, a Mercedes in the pool, a temperamental midget (Martin Klebba) and one pissed-off drug dealer (Rick Shapiro), and you’ve got an unstoppable force of nature. The more the party grows, the more you can feel it in the soundtrack, which includes relaxed beats like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s “The Next Episode,” in addition to the more forceful “Bitch Betta Have My Money” by AMG, before hitting its climax with Metallica’s metal maelstrom “Battery” once the gathering becomes a full-fledged riot even the cops can’t contain. Certain people in the audience may be appalled, but not the cool crowd. You’re cool, right?

You have to judge a movie like “Project X” based on what it’s trying to achieve. Is it enlightening? No. Is it a good example for minors or anyone else for that matter? Hell, no. Does it fulfill its promise of showing the greatest party of all time? Some may say yes, and those who don’t would likely say it comes damn close. At this rate, it might be best to judge after the inexorable sequel is released. Until then, we’ll always have the memories.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars

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