The Girl Next Door Review
by Harvey S. Karten (harveycritic AT cs DOT com)March 30th, 2004
THE GIRL NEXT DOOR
Reviewed by: Harvey S. Karten
Grade: B
20th Century Fox
Directed by: Luke Greenfield
Written by: Stuart Blumberg, David T. Wagner, Brent Goldberg, story by David T. Wagner and Brent Goldberg
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, Chris Marquette, Paul Dano
Screened at: UA 14th St., NYC, 1/21/04
Whoever said "Treat a lady like a tramp and a tramp like a lady may be on to something. After all, deep down, aren't prissy young women dying to break out, while the slutty ones secretly long for a Prince Charming to elevate their station? Luke Greenfield, who directed "The Girl Next Door," must be a true believer, because he does a yeoman-like job in constructing a high-school style comedy that says, "Move over, Farrelly Brothers. You're not the only show in town." While the poster, featuring the slinky, kinky title character, Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert), gives the impression that the movie is a sweet and sentimental story of a pretty young woman who falls in love with the first person who really cares for her, well...yes...that is what the story is about, but given the mainstream culture of today's youthful audience, the ante is upped. Greenfield helms a frequently riotous pic whose fast action and multiplicity of creative scenes do indeed gell. If only the performers had more depth (so to speak)!
One of the oldest male fantasies in the book is that of a guy who is charmed by a pretty hooker, taking on the one-man job of reforming her, and succeeding so well that she could pass for the traditional girl-next-door the "Meet Me in St. Louis" type that is nowhere to be found East or West of Salt Lake City. Since Danielle, not a hooker but a highly-paid porn star and not the sort who'd give up a high-paying gig during the prime of her life in that career Matthew (Emile Hirsch) has his work cut out for him. He must take on, in effect, a missionary position if he's going to convince the first love of his life that "you're better than that." Matthew, who is the senior president of Westport High School in California, seems too bland and shy to garner many votes from jocks and hotties alike, the epitome of boy scout morality. Having been accepted into Georgetown University, he needs to earn some big bucks to afford the tuition, which he could conceivably do by winning a speech contest on the subject of moral fiber.
When Danielle moves next door to Matthew temporarily as a house-sitter, Matthew, who does not have a date for the senior prom, is stricken: this is love at first sight. Discovering what she does for a living, he is nonplussed for a while. To make an honest woman of her he needs to convince her agent Kelly (Timothy Olyphant) to release her, but even more important, to show Danielle that no profession of hers, however lucrative, can compete with the love of an honest man.
Working with a script by a committee of four (usually a bad sign), Greenfield evokes credible performances from the ensemble, including the stereotypical suburban parents (Timothy Bottoms and Donna Bullock) and a bevy of babes hired by the Matthew to give a home-town, money-raising performance for a worthy cause while at the same time helping to convince Danielle to mend her ways. Top credit goes to Timothy Olyphant as Kelly, a funny man who could remind you of Billy Bob Thornton in both looks and character. Kelly, who tries to hold on to Ms. Cuthbert's Danielle, goes into active competition with the 18-year-old boy, a tug of war that provides the principal humor of the picture. By contrast, Cuthbert more Marilyn Monroe than Charlize Theron is given little to do other than to giggle, look pretty, and provoke Matthew's fantasies. The leads are well supported by Chris Marquette and Paul Dano as Matthew's two best friends, all in the service of moving the two principals more temperamentally close to each other. The shy Matthew is liberated by the porn star while Danielle, hardly ready to become a scout leader, is nonetheless predictably "saved" by a kid with high moral fiber.
Rated R. 106 minutes.(c) 2004 by Harvey Karten at
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