Review: The Girl Next Door (****)

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.



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