THE GIRL NEXT DOOR
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ****
"So what is the craziest thing you've done lately," Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert,
"24"), the movie's eponymous girl, asks Matthew (Emile Hirsch, THE EMPEROR'S
CLUB). Danielle is going to be his new drop-dead gorgeous neighbor for two
weeks while she house-sits for her aunt in THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, a perfect ****
gem with RISKY BUSINESS brilliance.
Matthew is the straight-as-an-arrow president of his high school class and an
obvious virgin who is just about to graduate and who's working hard on his
speech on "moral fiber" that he hopes will win him a scholarship. But, when
cute-as-a-button Danielle smiles at him, his hearts skips a beat -- or two or
three. You may want to bring a defibrillator to the theater with you. Looking
like nothing less than the most innocently beautiful actress working in
Hollywood today, Cuthbert -- whom I've never noticed before now -- was made to
play this part. Her face, which always seems like it is about to burst into
sweet little giggles at any moment, is her most striking feature, but the rest
of her body is terrific as well. And her acting is seductive, alluring and
absolutely compelling.
In a movie filled with surprises, some of which turn out to be dream sequences,
Danielle turns out to be a movie star -- in the adult film industry. This plot
twist looks like it might derail what until then has been a sweet romantic
comedy, but, under Luke Greenfield's deft direction, THE GIRL NEXT DOOR morphs
into two movies. One is the touching and frequently tragic love story between
Matthew and Danielle, and the other is a raunchy AMERICAN PIE-like sex romp.
Both work well and end up complementing each other rather than detracting. But
it is the romance that I liked the best, especially the moving sections when
the too-reserved Matthew and the too-knowing Danielle try to work out of the
boxes they find themselves trapped in. More than once, I felt extremely sorry
for each of them. "I just want to let you to know -- you're better than this,"
he tells her at a porn industry convention. (There is a movie by the same name
from 1999, which is a terrific documentary about real life porn star Stacy
Valentine.) How and why Matthew comes to kiss Danielle for the first time is a
particularly wonderful and satisfying moment and an instant classic screen
kiss.
The slightly overstuffed script also features Timothy Olyphant as a humorous
but slightly scary porn producer who isn't wild about his top talent wasting
her time going to the prom with some pipsqueak. Sometimes the film looks like
it may lapse into a cheesy teen comedy, but it never does.
THE GIRL NEXT DOOR is the biggest surprise of the year. I expected little, but
I fell in love with this movie. When it was over, I was sorry to see it go.
The characters are genuine and sympathetic, and there are lots of good laughs.
Every time you think it's about to run out of gas, the movie powers on ahead,
stronger than ever. The ending, especially, is a real treat and contains a
terrific twist.
THE GIRL NEXT DOOR runs 1:48. The film is rated R for "strong sexual content,
language and some drug/alcohol use" and would be acceptable for older
teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, April 9, 2004. In
the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC and the Century theaters.
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X-RT-RatingText: 4/4
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