The Girl Next Door (2004)

This is an enjoyable yet ultimately forgettable film. The "boy rescues cute girl from terrible life" plot has been done many times before, no doubt in many better ways. Emile Hirsch performs passably well with the material he is given, and the luscious Elisha Cuthbert provides plenty of eye candy that she could not show in 24. The rest of the characters are one-dimensional and barely worthy of mention. But the show belongs to Timothy Olyphant. Although he does not even appear until halfway through the film, his role makes the entire movie worth watching again. He screen presence is palpable as the ultra-cool bad boy that every man secretly wishes to be. Scruffy, chain-smoking, alternately funny, friendly then dangerous, he owns every scene in which he appears. Seeing this film makes one that much more anxious for the next season of JUSTIFIED to begin!

Fmovies: THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, Luke Greenfield's sexy yet sweet teen angst flick, owes a lot to both the RISKY BUSINESS premise (HS Senior, his goal a prestigious college, has his life turned 'upside-down' by world-wise 'Pro'), and the internal structure of John Hughes' 80's teen 'classics' (geeky hero, and his two geekier friends, gain acceptance and prestige through his relationship with a 'dream girl').

Close your eyes, and you could easily picture the young Anthony Michael Hall or John Cusack filling Emile Hirsch's role, with Rebecca De Mornay or Kelly Preston replacing Elisha Cuthbert as his ex-porn star girlfriend. THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, however, actually works quite well, thanks to Greenfield's 'tongue-in-cheek' approach to the naughtiness, and a flawless supporting cast, particularly Timothy Olyphant as a likable but ultimately ruthless porn producer, and Timothy Bottoms and Donna Bullock, as Hirsch's clueless but blindly supportive parents.

Emile Hirsch shows a propensity towards 'soulfully earnest' expressions, but does provide one of the film's funniest scenes, as, while high on Ecstasy, he attempts to navigate through a crowd awaiting his speech on 'high moral fiber'. While some critics tended to brush off Elisha Cuthbert's performance as just another skin-baring 'boy toy' variation, she actually conveys the vulnerability and pain of her character's past quite effectively, balancing it with sly humor and a LOT of 'sex appeal', done within the restraints of her "No Nudity" contract clause...Sorry, guys, while you'll see a LOT of her skin, you AREN'T going to see Elisha 'bare all'...

The film is a very funny, breezy lark, and while it never achieves the heights of insanity of RISKY BUSINESS, it certainly stands as one of the better 'teen' comedies of the past few years!

So yes most guys are going to see the movie because of the achingly beautiful and hot Elisha Cuthbert. And she only disappoints a little. Otherwise this is the perfect vehicle for her playing a porn star who is trying to change her ways and live more of a normal teen-age girl's life. As she stays at her aunt's house, she meets her next door neighbor after he spies on her undressing. I think a lot of guys will be able to relate to Emile Hirsch's character--a young guy who is trying so hard to break out of his shell. Along comes Elisha who is more worldly and adventurous and who actually likes him. He'd follow this girl anywhere and not one of us could blame him for girls like this rarely come along in life.The plot is somewhat predictable but the movie has enough funny, quirky and memorable characters that you will enjoy it anyway. There is one very memorable kiss which takes place at a party, while David Gray's "This Years Love" plays in the background. This same song plays again at the end when they are in the limo, but interestingly enough the song is not included on the movie soundtrack CD??? For guys like myself who are a little older, the movie represents a time in life when anything is possible and within reach if you just have that unreachable,beautiful woman by your side. Thing is, most young guys never believe they could get a girl like Elisha. So the movie is about much more than a porno star moving next door. Its about taking risks, putting your heart out there, reaching for what you want even though it appears unreachable. And finally, God, is Elisha Cuthbert just unreal!!!

The Girl Next Door fmovies. Oh, to a neighbor like Elisha Cuthbert. Not that my neighbors are bad. Want a cup of sugar? Just knock. Want help will the ball cock in your toilet? Ring next door. All of this is incredibly beneficial, but oh, to have a neighbor like Elisha Cuthbert!

Elisha plays the 'girl' in the new teen film The Girl Next Door directed by Luke Greenfield (The Animal). Her name is Danielle and she arrives just when neighbor Mathew Kidman (Emile Hirsch) is writing a speech in hopes of getting a scholarship for his portrayal of moral fiber. But one look at the stripping Danielle from his bedroom window to hers leaves every fiber pointing in a different direction.

This small act of voyeurism leads to all sorts of trouble as Danielle notices her admirers' gazing and immediately heads next door to confront young Matthew. The result of their new courtship would lead to public nudity, breaking and entering, skipping school, taking drugs and everything else that we used to brag about without merit in High School.

And just as everything seems to be going extremely well for the young Matthew, one of his geek buddies reveals her true identity, that of an up-and-coming porn star. This revelation comes shortly before the arrival of her pimp film producer Kelly (Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant) who throws a wrench into the infatuational plans of the two neighbors and leads Matthew down a path that jeopardizes his endeavor to win the scholarship. Soon, Kelly and Matthew are attending strip clubs, meeting in Vegas and eventually, the two are involved in a robbery where Matt tries to win the freedom of the young Danielle.

Much has been made of The Girl Next Door's resemblance to the 1983 Tom Cruise film Risky Business. Truly, the comparisons cannot be more obvious. Instead of hookers, we have porn stars. Instead of a house party, we have a prom, and where there is a family heirloom in play with Cruise's film, Hirsch must pull out all the stops in order to obtain a $25,000 bank account that was amassed to bring a Cambodian teenager to America.

But with all these comparisons evident, I enjoyed The Girl Next Door more. The High School situations have been updated, and I believed in how Matthew could be easily drawn into his world of love and admiration, something I didn't feel with Cruise and DeMornay.

Don't get me wrong, The Girl Next Door will not have the impact of Risky Business nor will it be the catapult for either Hirsch or Cuthbert that Business was for Cruise. But it still was a rather enjoyable film. Not filled with situations bordering on the asinine (see American Pie's 2 through 3), The Girl Next Door was a smart film that resembled a John Hughes film of the early 1980's. I enjoyed all the characters from the geeks who are trying to find their sexual niche to the awkwardness and mature awakening of Matthew through the ordeal of following his dreams. Whereas adolescent films recently have skewed into gross out comedy in such entries as The New Guy, American Pie and Van Wilder, The Girl Next Door gives us something fresh, a progressive out of character plot backed by the love of a beautiful woman.

All these funny and interesting struggles lead to the senior prom where the result might seem far fetched, but at least it seems as if the director meant it not to be taken with any notion of seriousness. We understand the good guys from the bad guys and the movie makes no attempts to throw a surprise or two our way. Maybe in its simplicity, it has

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.

The Girl Next Door isn't a riotous, laugh-out-loud comedy, à la American Pie or Road Trip (don't get me wrong, I think they are fine movies of a different genre), nor should it be treated as such when being reviewed. It's much more mature, a sweet delight of a story that has you chuckling in amusement rather than rolling on the floor guffawing. For that, I would hardly even classify it in the generic 'comedy' genre. I must admit, I did go in thinking that I'd spend two hours of my life enjoying yet another teen comedy, with an overdone plot, jokes bordering on distasteful, and up to the brim with gratuitous nudity. However, I came out with so much more.

It's a classic tale of boy-meets-girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy lives happily ever after with girl. But what makes The Girl Next Door stand out from the rest is the superb cast. The casting director did a great job, placing Emile Hirsch opposite Elisha Cuthbert (both very talented young up-and-coming actors, I wish them well in luck, love and life). The pair's on-screen chemistry is undeniably electric. They portrayed Matthew and Danielle's relationship perfectly – loving and tender, yet fragile. This boy has fallen hopelessly in love for the first time, with the girl of his dreams. He has no past experience to draw on, he's terrified and confused, and he doesn't know what to do! As director Luke Greenfield pointed out in his commentary (Unrated DVD is a must-have for the hardcore fans), Emile and Elisha were chosen for their ability to act without dialogue, simply with their eyes. The subtleties in each expression brings so much more to the characters when watched closely in detail – every nervous bite of the lip, every slight mischievous arch in the eyebrow – you can tell exactly what they're thinking. Now, I've seen my fair share of movies/TV shows, and I'd be confident in saying that I have not yet seen another actor/actress able to fill those roles as perfectly and effortlessly as Emile and Elisha did. They must've poured their hearts out into these characters, bringing them to life, their romance blossoming on-screen.

And how can we ignore the superb supporting cast? Timothy Olyphant and Chris Marquette's work on this movie was simply priceless. They provided the comedy and laughs, and it would be impossible to list all of their hilarious one-liners here. A lot of people claim that they made the movie, and though I disagree, I can sure see where they're coming from.

And the music, oh, the music. I came of no great surprise to me to learn that Luke Greenfield writes all his projects to music. It is this unique trait that embellishes the movie with such a vivid background. From Bowie & Queen's "Under Pressure" opening montage to The Who's "Baba O'Riley" closing credits, every single song is perfect for its scene, particularly David Gray's "This Year's Love", mine and many other's favourite song in the soundtrack. It kicks in at the exact right moment and manages to capture everything about this innocent, pure, high school romance. Also, Paul Haslinger (second to none at composing scores) wrote some of his best work for The Girl Next Door. Simply put (again, stealing lines from the director) Haslinger is deadly with a piano. Each score enhances and fills the moment with such tension and suspense, most notably "Peeping Matt", when Matthew watches this gorgeous creature undressing through his window for the first