Though it may have an X in its a title, “Project X” is nowhere near a 10.

“Project X” fails to stand out amongst other teen flicks by taking the brief, meaningless party scenes that are found in films such as “Mean Girls” or “10 Things I Hate About You” and making those scenes the premise of an entire film.

The film’s plot focuses on bored, Suburban teen Thomas and his two best friends Costa and J.B., along with the hired Dax, who ‘films’ the night that follows. The friends decide to record footage of Thomas’ 17th birthday bash that will take place while Thomas’ parents are gone for the weekend.

Wanting the party to be their final attempt to gain the popularity they’ve been starving for since freshman year, the party is advertised in school flyers, mass texts, radio stations and even Craigslist. After the party starts, the night is kicked off with about 100 high schoolers and loud, raunchy hip-hop music but then escalates into an ecstasy-fueled stunt show with thousands of people that eventually goes down in flames – literally.

Directed by newcomer Nima Nourizadeh, the film is shot mockumentary style, an approach to filmmaking that demands very little during the filming process and in the editing room, save for the array of special effects.

Despite having such a lackluster plot, the film does boast some impressive special effects and stunts that range from torching the neighborhood down with a flamethrower to landing Thomas’ father’s car into a swimming pool. Every other aspect of cinematography, however, is unimaginative and didn’t meet the expectations that were made when the film’s production team decided to gain publicity by frantically advertising how this film is produced by the director of “The Hangover.”

The lighting of the film is comparable to an under-21-night promotion video shot by an under-resourced nightclub. The choice of music goes hand-in-hand with this theme, choosing barely tolerable tunes that don’t stray away from the rap and hip-hop songs heard at high school grind-fests – or what some people would call prom.

Surprisingly, the acting was not as weak of a link as the cinematography. Although mockumentaries don’t require solid acting talent to create effectively, there wasn’t a single moment when a line delivered felt awkward or out of character.

The character Thomas, portrayed by Thomas Mann, continuously contemplates whether or not a semester of popularity is worth the chaos that is erupting around him throughout the film and he does it well. Mann seems to have the talent, but to star in this film is a career move that will take him years to atone for.

An aspect of the script that should have been further explored is the love story between Thomas and his childhood friend Kirby, who is played by Kirby Bliss Blanton. If this relationship could have occupied more than 10 percent of the script, the film’s plot would actually have a bit of substance.

In fact, the character Blanton plays should have even been more developed. Blanton’s very few lines aren’t enough to prove her acting ability but at least the character breaks free from the stereotypical “hot girl” role that infests every teen flick’s script by playing the popular girl who loved the nerd before he went through such great lengths to be cool.

However, instead of developing a story that could have at least been tolerable, the film’s writers decided to stick with crafting creative lines such as “I’m so wasted, man.”

The film also tries to sell a moral but contradicts itself whenever it gives a hint that there even is one. One second the viewer thinks that the film is trying to show how over-indulging in drugs and partying can lead to downhill spiraling chaos, but then the very next second the moral of the film has changed to “take ecstasy, it’ll solve all of your problems.”

Even the characters fail to learn anything from their mistakes. After forcing his parents into bankruptcy because of the expenses needed to cover the party’s damages, Thomas only cares about letting Kirby know his feelings for her, which seems far less important than his future court hearings and only reinforces the fact that the love story wasn’t even developed enough to deserve that much attention.

“Project X” isn’t the worst that Hollywood has thrown in movie theaters and it probably won’t be the worst of 2012. Still, it fails to rise above mediocrity and its fun-to-watch stunts and decent acting can’t give this film a passing grade, not to mention that it’s a title that the director of “The Hangover” should never brag about producing – ever.

Stephen Margelony-Lajoie can be reached at [email protected].