Project X (1987 film)
Project X | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Jonathan Kaplan |
Written by | Lawrence Lasker Stanley Weiser |
Produced by | Walter F. Parkes Lawrence Lasker |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Dean Cundey |
Edited by | O. Nicholas Brown Brent A. Schoenfeld |
Music by | James Horner |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | English American Sign Language |
Budget | $18 million |
Box office | $21 million |
Project X is a 1987 science fiction comedy-drama film produced by Walter F. Parkes and Lawrence Lasker, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Matthew Broderick and Helen Hunt. The plot revolves around a USAF Airman (Broderick) and a graduate student (Hunt) who are assigned to care for chimpanzees used in a secret Air Force project.
Plot[]
Graduate student Teri MacDonald has trained a chimpanzee named Virgil to use sign language. When her research grant is not renewed, she is forced to sell Virgil. He is taken to an Air Force base to be used in a top-secret research project involving flight simulation, though she's told that he's been sent to a zoo in Houston.
Airman Jimmy Garrett is assigned to the same chimp project. Virgil and Jimmy quickly bond, and Jimmy discovers that Virgil has been taught sign language. Unbeknownst to Jimmy, once the chimps reach a certain level in operating the flight simulator, they will be exposed to a lethal pulse of radiation to determine how long a pilot may survive after a nuclear exchange in carrying out a second-strike.
When Jimmy becomes aware of the chimps' fate, he contacts Teri, who comes to the base. Teri tells Jimmy that she will inform the National Science Foundation of the deception, but Jimmy explains that she does not have enough time because Virgil is scheduled to die soon.
Jimmy challenges Dr. Carroll and others about the project's value by noting that the hypothetical pilot, knowing the implications of the second-strike scenario, would know that he is dying, and would, therefore, be affected by that knowledge. However, the chimps would not be as aware; thus, the project is flawed. Enraged, Dr. Carroll promises Jimmy that his military career is finished.
Meanwhile, in the vivarium, some of the chimps have unlocked their cages and have stacked crates and boxes to attempt an escape through a skylight. Jimmy, Teri, Dr. Carroll and the authorities walk in the vivarium to see the chimps loose. Virgil is at the top of the stack, and attempts to break the skylight with a crowbar. Teri sees Virgil up top and convinces him to come down. Dr. Carroll attempts to control the chimps with an electric prod, but Goliath the chimp proves too powerful, prompting Dr. Carroll and the authorities to flee. Many chimps escape the vivarium and cause havoc throughout the base, while Goliath and a few others reach the flight chamber. Inside, Goliath and the chimps wreck the simulator and short the chamber's control panel, causing the radiation reactor to go up. The flight chamber continues to be wrecked as Jimmy, Teri and Virgil arrive. Despite Goliath's refusal to leave, Jimmy gets the chimps out and barely escapes, as Goliath is caught in a radiation blast. A fire extinguisher left by the chimps jams the reactor on its way down, posing a risk of a possible meltdown. Jimmy and Virgil convince Goliath to yank out the jammed fire extinguisher and succeed, but Goliath later dies from radiation exposure.
Jimmy and Teri steal a military plane to help the chimps escape, but military police stop them. While the police are holding them, Virgil pilots the plane, and the chimps fly away. They eventually crash in the nearby Everglades and evade a search. Just as the search is being abandoned, Jimmy and Teri see Virgil hiding in the bush with his chimpanzee girlfriend. Teri signs to Virgil that he and the others are now "free", and the chimps disappear into the Everglades.
Cast[]
- Matthew Broderick as Jimmy Garrett
- Helen Hunt as Teri MacDonald
- William Sadler as Dr. Carroll (credited as Bill Sadler)
- Johnny Ray McGhee as Robertson
- Jonathan Stark as Sgt. Krieger
- Robin Gammell as Col. Niles
- Stephen Lang as Watts
- Jean Smart as Dr. Criswell
- Daniel Roebuck as Hadfield
- Marvin J. McIntyre as Cellmate
- Harry Northup as Congressman
- Michael Eric Kramer as Lt. Voeks
- Dick Miller as Max King
- Jules Sylvester as Airman
- Richard Cummings Jr. as Lt. Hayes
- Robert Lee Minor as Air Policeman
- Ken Lerner as Finley
- Michael McGrady as Wilson
- Deborah Offner as Carol Lee
- Lance E. Nichols as Hamer
- Ken Sagoes as Patrolman
- Richard Paul as Lead Ape
Reception[]
Critical reception[]
The movie received generally positive reviews from critics. As of 21 March 2019, it holds a 75% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews with an average rating of 6.1/10.[1]
In his review for The New York Times, Walter Goodman described the film as a "young folks' story, a sweet-natured boy-and-his-chimp tale (even the bad guys aren't all that bad - that's very arguable), with a dose of Animal Liberation to give the impression that something of current significance is going on."[2]
On 5 February 1989, it was the first film ever shown on Sky Movies in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[3]
Controversy[]
TV personality Bob Barker and the United Activists for Animal Rights accused the film's producers of animal cruelty. The American Humane Association, which consulted during production, filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit, arguing that the animal cruelty claims were based on hearsay.[4] In 1994, over Barker's objections, his insurance company settled the lawsuit for $300,000.[5]
Aftermath[]
Virgil was portrayed by "Willie", who now resides at Primarily Primates wildlife refuge. Willie was sent there along with Harry, who played his "girlfriend". They were retired from the entertainment industry and live with other males in a tightly knit group at the refuge in Bexar County, Texas.[6]
References[]
- ^ "Project X (1987)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ Goodman, Walter (17 April 1987). "Film: 'Project X,' About Boy and Simian Sidekick". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
- ^ The Times page 37, 4 February 1989
- ^ Smith, Lucinda; Feldon, Leah; Hoover, Eleanor (18 September 1989). "Speaking Up for 'Abused' Animals, Bob Barker Is Hit with a Lawsuit". People. New York: Time. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
- ^ Gonzales, Vince (11 February 2009). "Animals Harmed in Movies?". CBS Evening News. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
- ^ Tell, Stephen Rene (Winter 2010–11). "Spotlight on Willie and Friend". Primarily Primates Newsletter. Primarily Primates. Archived from the original on 24 December 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
External links[]
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: Project X (1987 film) |
- Project X at IMDb
- Project X at AllMovie
- Project X at the TCM Movie Database
- Project X at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Project X at Rotten Tomatoes
- Project X at Box Office Mojo
- 1987 films
- American science fiction comedy-drama films
- 1980s science fiction films
- American films
- American science fiction thriller films
- 1980s science fiction thriller films
- American comedy thriller films
- Films about apes
- Films about the United States Air Force
- American Sign Language films
- Films directed by Jonathan Kaplan
- 20th Century Fox films
- Films scored by James Horner
- Films about animal rights
- 1980s comedy thriller films
- Films produced by Walter F. Parkes