Project X

Jimmy Garrett wants to be an air force pilot but taking his girlfriend up in a jet while drinking champagne was not a move that seems likely to aid that career goal. That little stunt sees him bust down to helping in a special pilots project (Project X) which he hopes will see him trained up to be a pilot but really sees him looking after chimps who are being trained as pilots for some reason. Jimmy takes to the job once he befriends chimp Virgil, who appears to have been taught sign language. Things are good and Jimmy's technique benefits the programme until, that is, the painfully naïve chap learns the aim of project x.

Very much aimed at a young teen audience, this film is a solid family drama with a conscience and a message about animal testing. The basic plot is pretty obvious but it is effective in drawing the audience in with humour and of course the fact that monkeys are legally very cool and cute. I doubt anyone watching is as naïve as Jimmy and most viewers will see the obvious plot development long before it is revealed and from there it continues along a fairly predictable path. It is to its credit though that it is still quite engaging, exciting and touching despite this simplicity and older children will eat it up. It does have a message about animal testing but don't expect it to be balanced or weigh up pros and cons or anything like that because this very much has its Disney agenda. It is still sweet family fare though but it does take a lot of swallowing in both the simplicity of the message and the high-concept of the plot.

Broderick takes billing after all the monkeys which I suppose is only right. He is solid and works well with the chimps but the film is not his by any means. No, the film belongs to Willie (Virgil), Okko (Goofy) and the others. Virgil in particular is expressive and very well trained – in fact trained to the point that he does convince as the character he plays. Support is basic by comparison but still does the job. Sadler does his usual bad guy shtick while McGee, Stark and Hunt are all solid for what they have to do.

Overall then a basic but enjoyable family film that is simplistic on all levels but is cute, sentimental and quite dramatic. Probably not anywhere near good enough to stand up to viewings by discerning adults but it will make for a good family film if you have older children.

The eighties have to be considered part of the modern movie era. And already, this is a hidden gem.

The plot is about a government project which uses chimpanzees as guinea pigs in dangerous experiments, and about a man's change from bureaucrat to caring individual.

The plot could have been mundane and mushy, but instead was well crafted.

The film is expertly directed and written. We feel the pains and struggles. It is very moving, and sure to create a tear among the hardest hearts in places.

Air Force trainee (Matthew Broderick) is caught with a girl in a plane and is punished by being sent to a research facility where they train chimpanzees to fly with flight simulators. He becomes attached to one chimp in particular named Virgil, who was trained to speak sign language by Helen Hunt. Eventually he learns that the chimps are subjected to deadly experiments. So he seeks out Virgil's trainer so they can try to save the chimps.

Obviously this is an easy movie to deride. With its animal rights and anti-military themes, it's going to lose some audience members at the door. I'm not saying that the movie is completely fair on these issues. It's a pretty clear black & white/good vs bad kind of story that tugs at the heartstrings more than it engages the mind. But it does it very well. I enjoyed the movie a lot despite not agreeing with its oversimplified viewpoints 100%. Broderick and Hunt were great but the chimps really steal the show. It's hard not to feel sympathetic towards their plight. I also liked the ending, which many seem to think is silly. It was Disneyesque but appropriately hopeful. It's a good film. Check it out if you're not overly cynical.

A baby chimp is captured in the jungles of Africa and sent to the University of Wisconsin. Psych researcher Teri MacDonald (Helen Hunt) names him Virgil and teaches him sign language. A year later, her grant doesn't get renewed and she loses Virgil. She's told that Virgil is going to a children's zoo but instead, he goes to Lockridge Air Force Base in Florida. Pilot Jimmy Garrett (Matthew Broderick) gets a reprieve after stealing a plane to fly a girl on a date. He's brought to take care of the chimpanzees. He thinks Dr. Carroll (William Sadler) is teaching them how to fly but he's doing much more.

It's a touching movie with Broderick providing a good young lead. Hunt is the pleading liberal heart. It's a touching animal rights movie with its own Star Trek II death moment and loads of chimps. It has the feel of WarGames with Broderick being the same smartalecky young guy. The chimps are compelling with their own personalities which keeps the crazy ending somewhat believable. The alleged animal abuse during the filming is disturbing but I'm not going to subtract from my vote here. I'm just voting based on what's on the screen.

Matthew Broderick's big smiling face booms out on the DVD cover, there's also Helen Hunt looking strangely alluring, while a small silhouette shows a man and chimp holding hands in the glow of something bright. Lovely, just lovely. Yet this is something of a bum steer considering the film is very rarely funny or sexy!

Project X comes from the stable of films involving animals that are made to illicit a prescribed response from the human being. More so if you happen to be an animal lover as well. It all looks very dated while the message and thematics at work are frayed around the edges. In fact better treatments of "animal testing" films have been made both before and after Project X. But this in no way means Jonathan Kaplan's movie isn't any good, because it is. The cast are engaging, there's no demonising of the military humans and it hits all the right emotional beats of its subject matter. It just needs to be said that any expectation of a thought provoking and believable picture will only lead to disappointment.

Get the tissues ready and pray for a punch the air ending, while enjoy those awesome chimps as well. 7/10