The Girl Next Door

What's the Plot?

Mathew (Emile Hirsch) is the geek in his high school. This school square dreams of becoming the next JFK. Dedicated, Mathew is on track to getting his scholarship to Georgetown University. Apart from securing his prospective future, Mathew spends his time with Eli (Chris Marquette) - a self-confessed porn freak - and Klitz (Paul Dano), another nerd. Everything is going to plan, that is until someone moves in next door: Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert). She is the girl of Mathew's dreams: smart, approachable and unbelievably attractive. There's just one small problem. And that is that Danielle is a famous porn star. Mathew decides that Danielle's current life is not good enough for someone like her and so he sets out to try and get her away from her job and the "seediness" connected with it. However, as Mathew tries to pull her out, he only succeeds in dragging himself further into the ruthless world of the porn industry. Just how far is he willing to go to save the girl next door, and himself ?

The Review

Back in the 80's, one of the "coming-of-age" movie's was the Kelly LeBrock starrer, Weird Science. 2 geeks created the ultimate woman, who, instead of rocking their world in a way you would hope (especially if you were a teenage boy who went to see it in a cinema), changed their world by showing them that everyone has a side to them that is attractive to someone else, that is if they're confident in themselves. The Girl Next Door is Weird Science for a new generation with the added realism of the an ever-growing part of today's culture - the porn industry - replacing the "made by computer and alotta luck" woman of every young man's dreams.

With director Luke Greenfield at the helm, you could be forgiven to give this a wide berth... that and the fact that the poster, the title and the lack of bankable movie star's are very low indeed. Greenfield, who directed the blink-and-you'll-miss-it, The Animal starring the destined-to-never-be-big Rob Schneider, handles the comedy rather well, but also doesn't screw up on the more serious undertones that the script has to offer. Mathew's images of his parent's with Danielle "getting it on" after he finds out her profession is a great comedy moment which sits at the opposite end of the scale of his visions of a horrific car accident, which, incidentally is superbly done... shockingly so infact.

The cast do a great job, and the fact that they have a good script is obviously a bonus for all, with Hirsch and Cuthbert coming off rather well in their roles of fantasier and fantasy. What really makes this stand out from all the recent "comedies for the youth of today" is that The Girl Next Door, in most cases, manages to walk the fine line between the old school versions of "coming-of-age" romps, and the replacement "gross-out" comedies such as American Pie and Road Trip that have graced the cinema screens of late. Bold, brave, different and funny, this is a teen flick worthy of viewing even if you can't remember your teen's that well.

STEVE'S SCORES