The Girl Next Door (2004)

A teenager's dreams come true when a former porn star moves in next door and they fall in love.

Director:

Luke Greenfield

Writers:

David Wagner (story), Brent Goldberg (story),

Stars:

Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emile Hirsch	...	Matthew Kidman
Elisha Cuthbert	...	Danielle
Timothy Olyphant	...	Kelly
James Remar	...	Hugo Posh
Chris Marquette	...	Eli
Paul Dano	...	Klitz
Timothy Bottoms	...	Mr. Kidman
Donna Bullock	...	Mrs. Kidman
Jacob Young	...	Hunter
Brian Kolodziej	...	Derek
Brandon Irons	...	Troy
Amanda Swisten	...	April
Sung Hi Lee	...	Ferrari
Ulysses Lee	...	Samnang
Harris Laskawy	...	Dr. Salinger

Storyline

18-year-old Matthew Kidman is a straight 'A' over-achiever who feels that he has never really lived life to the full. That is, until he meets 'the girl next door'. Danielle moves in next door, and Matthew thinks he's found the girl of his dreams. All is going well, until Matthew's sex-mad friend Eli reveals that Danielle is actually a ex-porn star. Matthew doesn't know how to take the news or how to treat Danielle, and things go from bad to worse when Danielle's former producer Kelly appears to take her back.

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Plot Keywords:

love | high school | porn star | high school senior | producer | 

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Taglines:

Matt never saw her coming... but all his friends had!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, language and some drug/alcohol use

Details

Official Sites:

Fox [es] Official site [cz]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

La chica de al lado

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$186,700 (Brazil) (24 September 2004)

Gross:

$294,284 (Brazil) (1 October 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Daybreak

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 110 min (unrated version) (international) (unrated)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene-specific DVD audio commentary for the film Emile Hirsch reveals that when shooting the scene where Elisha Cuthbert forces him to strip, director Luke Greenfield wanted him to shave his chesthair but Hirsch who was 17 at the time refused because, as he himself puts it, "did not wanna shave off my manhood".

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Goofs

When the two Danielle and Matthew are in the pool of the principal, Danielle's hair changes between shots from wet to dry.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Woman: [voiceover] How do you want me?
Man: Oh, that's good. Yeah. Just, uh... just get comfortable.
Woman: I'm a little nervous.
Man: Nah, you're doing great.

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Connections

References Platoon (1986)

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Soundtracks

"BIG MUFF"
Written Afrika Bambaataa, Jari Salo, DJ Slow (as Vellu Maurola)
Performed by Pepe Deluxé
Courtesy of Emperor Norton Records and Catskills Records Ltd./Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd. for world excluding USA and Canada

User Reviews

Kind of a homage to Risky Business but much more than that

I did not see this movie in theaters. I usually wait for teen films to come out on video before viewing them. I must say, the way this movie was marketed, one would figure that this flick is along the lines of such classics as Bring It On and Can't Hardly Wait. Though this movie definitely is now part of the illustrious teen film library, it runs a little bit deeper than the average adolescent flick.

As the title suggest, this movie does have Risky Business written all over it. The characters (the pimp vs the adult film director) the props (glass egg vs the golden "trophy") as well as the music and language definitely give this film an updated twist on RB. However, it would be erroneous to write this film off as a rip-off, it just isn't afraid to show it's influence.

Emile Hirsch is great as Matthew Kidman, the ambitious high school senior (who actually looks like he's in high school) with an Ivy League future. Straight and narrow, his life is spun on it's head once Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert) enters the picture. Cuthbert, playing a free-spirited porn star, actually gives a rather understated performance that is sincere and sweet. Matthew's once planned out life is now lived more on the edge, and with that, he encounters some interesting characters, such as Kelly, the shady porn director, played flawlessly by Timothy Olyphant.

However, as the film progresses, the movie didn't delve as deeply into Cuthbert's character as it should have. No insight into her background, how did she get to where she is right now, etc. She also takes a back seat to the growing tension between the Matthew and the sleazebag Kelly. I must say, Olyphant is great in this film. He goes from being hilarious to charming to scary in the span of about five minutes and steals almost every scene he's in. The other supporting characters are great. Chris Marquette (Eli) and Paul Dano (Klitz) are funny as Hirsch's dorky friends, and hopefully Marquette will land more roles like this. They too seem to become more adventurous once Danielle enters the picture, what an influence one person can have.

So in the end, this does have a lot of the typical teen flick campiness. There are jocks, hot chicks on campus, geeks, and the movie itself has plenty of swearing, bathroom humor, slapstick, you name it. There is a sweetness to the movie, as it's amazing what a person will do when they fall in love. This movie has plenty of twists and turns, so come along for the ride and have some fun.