Project X (1987 film)

Project X is a 1987 American 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.

Project X
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJonathan Kaplan
Produced byWalter F. Parkes
Lawrence Lasker
Written byLawrence Lasker
Stanley Weiser
Starring
Music byJames Horner
CinematographyDean Cundey
Edited byO. Nicholas Brown
Brent A. Schoenfeld
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • April 17, 1987 (1987-04-17)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
American Sign Language
Budget$18 million
Box office$21 million

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 is going to inform the National Science Foundation of the deception. Jimmy tells Teri that she does not have enough time because Virgil is scheduled to die soon.

Jimmy challenges Dr. Carroll and others about the value of the project by pointing out that the hypothetical pilot, knowing of 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 have the same awareness; thus, the project is flawed. This enrages Dr. Carroll.

Meanwhile, in the vivarium, some of the chimps have unlocked their cages and have stacked crates and boxes in an attempt to escape through a skylight. Jimmy and Teri walk in to see the chimps escaping. Virgil, at the top of the stack, is about to break the skylight with a crowbar when the authorities enter. Goliath the chimp becomes very angry and fights with Dr. Carroll. The authorities are chased from the room, and Goliath and Virgil end up in the flight simulator room. A jammed fire extinguisher moves the radiation generator into an exposed condition, potentially leading to an uncontrolled radiation blast. Jimmy gets Virgil and some other chimps out, but Goliath continues smashing the simulator and is caught inside. Jimmy and Virgil convince Goliath to yank out the extinguisher, but Goliath dies from radiation.

Jimmy and Teri steal a military plane to help the chimps escape, but they are stopped by military police. 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

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

The film's producers were accused of animal cruelty by TV personality Bob Barker and the United Activists for Animal Rights. 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
  1. "Project X (1987)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  2. Goodman, Walter (17 April 1987). "Film: 'Project X,' About Boy and Simian Sidekick". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  3. The Times page 37, 4 February 1989
  4. 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.
  5. Gonzales, Vince (11 February 2009). "Animals Harmed in Movies?". CBS Evening News. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  6. 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.
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