The Girl Next Door Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)March 23rd, 2004
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.
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: [email protected]
***********************************************************************
Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email? Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
More on 'The Girl Next Door'...
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
