Chimpanzees, Test Pilots, and Maudlin Memories
Project X landed on Home Video today in 1987, after an April 17th theatrical release.
Jonathan Kaplan’s underrated tale of a chimpanzee test pilot starring Matthew Broderick, William Sadler and Hellen Hunt could have easily been a prequel to a new Planet of the Apes series, well at least my 14 year old self thought so at the time. But alas, like many under-performing top-tier titles in the late 80s, it got dumped into the video store oubliette after some lukewarm box office. Over the years, it somehow managed avoid turning into nostalgia-bait or cult class, but I’ve always had a real soft spot for this one… it hits me right in the maudlins. I first saw it in theaters the week after Ferris Bueller hit home video, so I was still in Broderick-worship mode when the lights dimmed. I wasn’t disappointed.