'Project X' gets crazy in new raunchy movie clips

Posted Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 10:40 AM Central
Last updated Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 10:53 AM Central

by John Couture

Recently, it seems that comedies, especially those involving teens, have become watered down. In the past, teen comedies were the purveyors of sin with gratuitous nudity, alcohol and drugs seemingly being actual characters in the movie itself.

Long gone are the days of R rated goodies such as Risky Business, Porky's and even American Pie. Instead, most teen comedies these days are released with the dreaded PG-13 rating that insures more younger teens will get to see it, but also polarized adults who want to see more raunchy comedies that they remember from their teen days.

Lately, it seems that the balance is shifting yet again, thanks mostly to the exploits of one guy, Todd Phillips. He single-handedly made the R rated mature comedy film cool again with 2009's The Hangover.

With his latest film (he's producing it) Project X, he brings the raunchiness back to the group of people who perfected it: teenagers. Now, while he uses the "found footage" technique here (and everyone knows how I feel about it), I'm going to surprise some of you and say that it's a brilliant move.

My issue with "found footage" films is that they are overused and unnecessary most of the time. Here, the concept works because the idea of throwing an out of control party and then "reliving" it through the video that the kids themselves took is compelling. It actually adds to the storyline and doesn't detract from the overall film.

I think you'll agree once you see the latest "trailer" released by Warner Bros. It's not technically a trailer in that it hasn't been submitted and rated by the MPAA, but it's safe to assume that it is the equivalent of a red-band trailer.

There's strong language, nudity and just a wee bit of bestiality in the clip, so if you're offended by any of these things I would suggest that you don't hit play below. For the rest of you, be prepared because I think after watching it, you'll be pretty psyched to see the rest of it.

Project X opens in theaters on March 2.