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The Girl Next Door's director Luke Greenfield has pulled off one hell of a balancing act. Somehow he has attempted to encompass two sub-genres from the teen movie canon with a relative degree of success, mixing sweet romantic wholesomeness with sexually crass entertainment. The film is by no means a classic or even that memorable (about from certain teasing scenes involving Miss Elisha Cuthbert's adult film star), but the John Hughes-influenced Greenfield should be congratulated for experimenting with a seemingly simple boy-meets-girl plot and turning it upside down. The early flashback montage of Matthew Kidman's (Emile Hirsch) life outlines how he is a high achiever ready to graduate, with all the geeky intellect (and none of the jock-like attributes) needed to study at his beloved Georgetown University by way of a scholarship in "Moral Fibre". When Cuthbert's Danielle house-sits next-door for her relative however, Kidman's planned career in politics seems like a distant shot as he falls in love for the first time, juggling both his successful career in academia and maintaining a bond with a smoking hot and out-of-his-league girl. Greenfield has presented a mature tale however by combining both comedy and drama in a sincere manner for such an imaginative film, and Hirsch and Cuthbert are actually believable in the lead roles - an upstanding Class President in a relationship with a porn star is never phoney or artificial after the first awkward hurdles.
Chris Marquette's Stifler-like Eli, Paul Dano's nerdy Klitz, and the always reliable Timothy Olyphant as the immoral Kelly represent the American Pie contingent of the film, but their stereotypical characters are cancelled out by the sweet-natured sub-plot about Samnang, a gifted Cambodian pupil, Kidman's naivety yet level headedness, and a rehabilitated Danielle. Sure, Cuthbert ticks all the boxes as both a girl next door and a sexy porn star, and even though the adult industry ultimately saves the destiny of Kidman, Greenfield crafts more than just an exercise in sleaze - the protagonist and his buddies may go to a convention in Vegas but the nudity isn't unnecessary and Cuthbert never even goes bare in the entire film. The director gives the core relationship time to blossom and allows the opportunity for Danielle to establish the fresh start she seeks, even if at times the overall plot slightly stalls as a result - the piece is well-written nonetheless. The Girl Next Door may be influenced by Risky Business, and in turn, one can draw parallels with the similar I Want Candy, but Greenfield's brave effort is certainly equal to, if not better, than both.
The extras
Luke Greenfield's commentary is really good apart from how he is apparently, "legally not allowed to say certain things." He is simply a fountain of knowledge though, constantly talking about the film he loves. Emile Hirsch has a screen specific commentary for four scenes, and Elisha Cuthbert has the same treatment for five. Hirsch is very much in the play-by-play mould but he adds decent material about the production as a whole as well - Olyphant reminds him of Clint Eastwood, apparently. Cuthbert is relaxed and really insightful, especially when talking about her numerous wardrobe changes compared to her one costume in Fox's television series 24. "Revealing The Girl Next Door: Trivia Track" is extremely cool. When enabled, this feature pops up in the corners of the screen every now and then with another factoid in correlation with what is happening on screen. For the ultimate information overload you can have this feature turned on with the Greenfield commentary, in addition to just having it on whilst only the film is playing. "The Eli eXXXperience" featurette is basically a series of pranks at a porn convention hosted by Chris Marquette in a continuation of his character. The "A Look Next Door" documentary is pretty concise and lets the whole package down with only Cuthbert seemingly making any effort to entice you into staying to watch the whole thing. 16 deleted/extended scenes are all average but the optional commentary by Greenfield is welcome. The gag reel is surprisingly completely unfunny, and the photo gallery and trailer act as bland condiments. An Easter egg can be found by highlighting "Gag Reel" and pressing right. "XXX" is a ten minute sex education film from the 1950s called "Parent to Child: About Sex". It's actually the highlight of the whole package humour-wise but is stupidly hidden!
The summary
Dismiss the film as just a cringe-worthy prospect at your peril. When given time to develop, The Girl Next Door is an amusing and heartfelt ride.
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