The Girl Next Door

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.

Wicked Sexy Comedy, thats just what may sum this movie up... Its not quite just another punk movie from Hollywood, but this one's different... It's about devotion and love...

I bought the DVD expecting just another teen movie, but was quite surprised... Elisha Cuthbert looked like a goddess... Totally cool... The plot is also nice, about a porno star who falls in love with just another ordinary kid... Emile Hersch also does a nice job, playing that ordinary kid... His friends especially 'Eli' is totally cool, and will bring you on your knees with his antics... I wont say much, cos it will spoil your anticipation... Buy the DVD, its loaded with special features, fully packed with it... Its worth every penny...

Responsibility for "The Girl Next Door"'s poor performance at the US box office - as well as over here - can be laid firmly at the feet of Twentieth Century Fox's marketing people; the tagline "Matt never saw her coming - but all his friends had!" made it seem like a full-on sex comedy, when it's actually a lot more than that; director Luke Greenfield and writers Stuart Blumberg, David T. Wagner and Brent Goldberg put more emphasis on the characters than the raunch, which makes all the difference. There's more to the movie than the sight of Elisha Cuthbert in a thong (in interviews she revealed that it is indeed her there... if not elsewhere in the movie).

The debt this movie owes to "Risky Business" - starting with the score by ex-Tangerine Dream member Paul Haslinger (Tangerine Dream scored "Risky Business") - is pretty clear; both movies have bright but slightly life-challenged graduate students given to fantasising about things that go wrong as their main characters (step forward Emile Hirsch as the sympathetic hero), both have sex-obsessed best friends, both have women in the sex business as the main female characters who come into the hero's uptight life and help to liberate him, and both have sleazy male bosses (Timothy Olyphant plays the Guido equivalent). The movie also has the same mostly restrained view of its story where other movies would have played up the farce aspects - the only real hi-jinks come when the movie's plot takes in the Adult Film Convention in Las Vegas - but "The Girl Next Door" is a lot more engaging and has a lot more heart than "Risky Business" (good though that movie is, charm is not its strong point), with the title character seen as more of a person than a masturbatory object both by our hero and by the movie. When she goes with a motel with him and starts to play up The Porn Star, you really hope they don't go through with it.

The mood set up in the early stages is so convincing that when Olyphant's porn producer character turns up the movie seems to turn into another one entirely (and if you go to see this because of Elisha's "one for the men" status, I must warn you that she spends alarming amounts of time off-screen); it's still a good one, but it damages the overall movie's tone, and for most of the rest of the movie it veers back and forth between sweet and sleazy... but the amazing thing is that "The Girl Next Door" actually manages to find a happy balance of the two by the time the prom climax arrives (with more echoes of "Risky Business" en route, for sure).

True, there's no actual sex seen and little nudity, but the cast works so well and the movie's so sincere that by the end it doesn't seem like a ripoff. With good use of songs blending with the score, well-done fantasy sequences, and a welcome dose of intelligence in its writing, "The Girl Next Door" is probably the most adorable movie to get an R rating since "Pretty Woman," and well worth seeing even if you don't have a thing for Kim off "24." But this isn't for the "Daily Sport" crowd. Which is their loss.

"The juice was worth the squeeze."

The movie starts with all the vibes of a classic teenage movie with high school prom, football events, popular kids vs unpopular etc.... but after Danielle(the girl on the poster) starts to establish herself in the movie everything changes..... The story becomes original by using sexy situations in a different, more naive ways, showing the love between a senior in high school and a young girl with an interesting past through some weird situations.

It's a funny sexy comedy with actors well guided by the director. Feels like a better edition of american pie movies and i think is oriented on the same audience.

The Girl Next Door is just simply an entertaining movie. It's got plenty of flaws - almost every single scene of the second half of the film seems to act as the climax, and then the movie keeps going - but it's also got one of the most appealing casts I've seen in a while. Emile Hirsh (Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, Emperor's Club) is the central character Matthew, about to graduate from high school. He's just plain likable. The drop-dead gorgeous Elisha Cuthbert (Kim Bauer on 24, in a very different type of role here) is the title character, Danielle. Matthew's two friends and one of Danielle's associates played by Tim Olyphant are particular standouts in terms of comic relief; the movie is genuinely funny. Funny, a bit silly, and at times honestly sweet, it's an entertaining movie that's harmless and worth seeing.