The Girl Next Door: Cuthbert, Wish-fulfillment Are Top Draws to This Underrated Teen-sex Comedy-drama
Dreams.
Desires.
Wish-fulfillment.
Most movies, no matter what genre or category they fall into, ultimately are about wish-fulfillment. Action-adventure movies, for instance, appeal to boys and men who lead less-than-exciting lives and would love to be a hero a la Indiana Jones or John McClane. Science fiction attracts a somewhat similar audience, and serious adaptations of novels draw the literary crowd whose tastes run from classic literature (Wuthering Heights) to popular genre fiction (The Shining, The Hunt for Red October, Message in a Bottle). Even non-fiction documentaries or based-on-true-stories allow history or news junkies to get a vicarious look at either past or current events.
Most romantic or erotic-tinged comedies depend on this notion of wish-fulfillment, because the whole point of watching a movie – either at the theater or at home – is to escape the stresses and drudgery of daily life. And a movie like Luke Greenfield’s The Girl Next Door is definitely an exercise in (mostly) male-oriented daydreaming, dealing as it does with the interesting but highly unlikely premise of a high school senior who falls for a former porn star turned house-sitter.
I have to admit that I had mixed emotions about The Girl Next Door when it had its moth’s-lifetime theatrical run in 2004. On the one hand, I didn’t really want to see it because most reviewers panned it, unfairly calling it an inferior rehash of the 1983 Tom Cruise-Rebecca DeMornay classic Risky Business. Yes, there are superficial similarities, obviously – both films deal with a college-bound high school boy who meets a sex-industry worker and falls for her while executing a clever scheme of some sort (in this case, filming an adult movie in a high school campus for reasons I won’t divulge here).
On the other hand, I did want to see at least part of The Girl Next Door for the simple reason that it co-stars Elisha Cuthbert, the sexy Canadian actress best known (and much derided) for playing the always-in-trouble Kim Bauer during the first three “days” of Fox’s 24. Since I have a weakness for hot blondes, as my sweetie will attest to, Cuthbert’s presence in this film – and the promise of seeing lots of her bare skin – was a definitive incentive for me to watch the film.
Sadly, however, its theatrical run was brief, and it disappeared into “wait for the home video/DVD” limbo before I could resolve my Hamletian “to see or not to see” internal debate, and it wasn’t until recently that I received a copy of The Girl Next Door from someone I care about deeply.
Whether or not you enjoy The Girl Next Door, especially the unrated version, depends on your tolerance for the conventions of the teen-sex comedy genre. Most guys (and some girls), especially younger ones, will like its raunchy little subplots (Elisha in various stages of dress and undress, a bit of girl-girl kissing in a limo ride, a totally nerdy guy being told by a porn actress that he is cute). Some viewers might like its cleverly hidden morals (don’t judge a book by its cover and love conquers all) or its Rube Goldberg-like convoluted plot centering on Danielle’s (Cuthbert) earnest efforts to escape the porn industry, Matthew’s (Emile Hirsch, in a surprisingly appealing role) realization that he loves Danielle even when he discovers what she used to do for a living, and the sleazy machinations of her former producer Kelly (Timothy Olyphant), who oozes both a charismatic charm and dark menace as he proves that he’ll stop at nothing to get his prized star back in front of the camera.
Considering that director Greenfield was also responsible for the disappointing Rob Schneider flick The Animal, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this film. Maybe it’s because I, too, have gone through the horny-teenager stage of life (some folks might even say I am still going through it at my advanced age of forty-something!), or maybe it’s because there is a sense of honesty mixed in with the fantasy elements of The Girl Next Door. It might not become one of my all-time favorite films, but it does have more heart, wit, and warmth than your average Jenna Jameson adult film. It might not be as explicit as, say, Jenna’s Baby Doll (the only true porn film I own), but it is certainly more human – and heartwarming – to watch.
Product Information
Encoding: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
Aspect Ratio(s): 1.85:1
Audio Encoding: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Rated: Unrated Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Video DVD Release Date: January
25, 2005
Run Time: 109 minutes
DVD Features:
Available subtitles: English, Spanish
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
Trivia track
Scene-specific commentary by Elisha Cuthbert and Emile Hirsch
“A Look Next Door” making-of featurette
“The Eli XXXperience”
Gag reel
12 deleted scenes and four extended scenes with optional director’s commentary, including the original ending
Stills gallery
The Trailer They Couldn’t Show on TV or in Theaters: “diRRRty”
One sexy Easter egg and more
Main Cast
Emile Hirsch … Matthew Kidman
Elisha Cuthbert … Danielle
Timothy Olyphant … Kelly
James Remar … Hugo Posh
Chris Marquette … Eli
Paul Dano … Klitz
Timothy Bottoms … Mr. Kidman
Donna Bullock … Mrs. Kidman
Jacob Young … Hunter
Brian Kolodziej … Derek
Brandon Irons … Troy
Director: Luke Greenfield
Recommended
Yes
