The Girl Next Door (2004)

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (2004)

3.5/4

Review by John Ulmer

"The Girl Next Door" is one of 2004's most entertaining movies --

sweet, crude; funny, sad; moralistic, filthy. Uneven mixtures of

opposites attract, much like the leading stars of the film, for a

movie that delights the audience at every turn. It manages to satirize

the teen comedy genre whilst exploiting it. This is raunchier than

"American Pie" and yet also far more sophisticated.

Emile Hirsche plays Matthew Kidman, a 19-year-old high school senior

who hasn't lived life to the fullest during his pre-graduation phase.

While fellow schoolmates skip school to go party at the beach, Matthew

sits in class, gazing outside at the partying teens, wishing he could

be like them.

Then the girl next door moves in: Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert), a

drop-dead-gorgeous blonde beauty who undresses across the street from

Matthew as he watches in his bedroom. She spots him peeking at her,

then plays cruel revenge tricks on him, and then eventually falls in

love with him because "of the way he looked at her."

She is touched by Matthew's honesty because she is a former porn star

(at the age of 19) and is not used to receiving true affection. When

Matthew finds out about her background he is mad, then happy, jumping

at the opportunity to sleep with Danielle. Danielle feels betrayed and

rushes off to Las Vegas for an adult film star convention. Matthew

follows her and tries to "get her back" as so many heroes always do,

but falls out with Danielle's producer, Kelly (played perfectly by

Timothy Olyphant).

The movie eventually tackles a number of subplots -- Matthew learning

to "go with it" and loosen up; Danielle abandoning her past and

looking forward to the future; a Cambodian genius being transferred to

Matthew's school; Kelly and Matthew's falling out; Matthew's college

scholarship, etc. The film juggles all these different ideas, managing

to maintain the audience's interest.

Yes, it is a bit raunchy at times and the subject matter is probably

inappropriately handled in some scenes. However, the core message of

the film is beautiful. It's hidden underneath an unfortunate layer of

smut that nevertheless fails to harm the film in any way.

Obviously inspired by the teen films of the 1980s, such as "Risky

Business" and the plethora of John Hughes-produced/directed flicks,

"The Girl Next Door" even boasts a great soundtrack that complements

the nature of the film.

The acting is one of the movie's most surprising elements -- Hirsche

and Cuthbert share chemistry, despite the fact that their two-year age

different in real life is quite obvious (Cuthbert looks much older).

That's sorta the point, though. Cuthbert is absolutely beautiful, but

people wandering into the theater hoping to see her nude should look

elsewhere. "The Girl Next Door" is better than that -- an honest and

touching teen comedy that cares for its characters and studies them

carefully. When Matthew and Danielle finally share a love scene it is

handled with tenderness, something rare in movies like this.

"The Girl Next Door" is a teen comedy for adults.

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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1300366
X-RT-TitleID: 1130343
X-RT-SourceID: 1382
X-RT-AuthorID: 6769
X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4