Project X (1987)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Jonathan Kaplan

Writers:

Lawrence Lasker (story)
Stanley Weiser (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 April 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

When the Air Force assigned Jimmy Garrett to a top secret project, he didn't know what he was in for. Neither did they.

Plot:

A young inductee into the military is given the task of looking after some chimpanzees used in the mysterious "Project X"...

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Nuclear Accident | Project | Pilot | Military

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Willie	...	Virgil
Okko	...	Goofy
Karanja	...	Goliath
Luke	...	Bluebeard
Harry	...	Ginger
Arthur	...	Winston
Clafu	...	Spike
Lucy	...	Razzberry
Lulu	...	Ethel
Mousie	...	New recruit
Matthew Broderick	...	Jimmy Garrett
Helen Hunt	...	Teri
William Sadler	...	Dr. Carroll (as Bill Sadler)
Johnny Ray McGhee	...	Robertson
Jonathan Stark	...	Sgt. Krieger

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | American Sign Language

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12/9 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Company:

Amercent Films

Goofs:

Factual errors: The leather jacket Jimmy Garret wears is actually a Navy G-1 flight jacket worn by Navy aircrew. Being in the Air Force he would wear the Air Force A-2 jacket.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Teri: You're free. Go on. Go on.

Soundtrack:

Shock The Monkey

Sad. Enriching, But Sad, And Very Well Done.

Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt. An Air Force pilot rescues smart chimps from lab experiments at a strategic-weapons research center, but then has to figure out what to do with them.

This film will break your heart, if you have a love for animals. You are introduced to the chimps (they're given CHARACTER development, if you can dig it), then you are shown what happens TO the chimps in this research center, and then you are shown what happens because of this treatment. Once you are emotionally invested in the premise, the tension of the surrounding atmosphere begins to build until the climactic crescendo.

This is actually not as bad as I remembered, but not as good as I hoped, watching from a more mature perspective. The performances are typical of the time, perhaps a tad better, but this work is horribly dated, as is practically everything from that era. I wouldn't say it rates a remaking, as it's fine as it is, but someone will in order to carry a "fresh" message that what goes on in these laboratories is wrong. Eventually, we'll see posters and ad blurbs for Project NeXt or something like that.

All in all, it's good for a rainy Sunday, but don't set your hopes real high, and ... in spite of the levity , heartwarming moments, and the kid-friendly ratings, this is NOT for younger (or tender) children, who could be traumatized for years by the treatment these chimps receive.

It rates a 6.8/10 from...

the Fiend :.