Sometimes it's nice to be surprised. The trailers for this film left the impression that The Girl Next Door was to be a below average and crude film, who's funniest moments were given away in hopes of planting 16-year-old males in the seats. It was to be yet another terrible transition for a young actress from television to film. The same gross-out style humor would be pounded into the ground for two hours as the audience thought of better uses for their $8.50. The truth of the matter is the beautiful Elisha Cuthbert has to share a well deserved spotlight here with a hilarious ensemble cast and the most solid writing a film of this nature is likely to have ever seen.
To be honest, I understand that most of you reading this have lost all faith in my judgment as a film critic, and that is understandable. I too thought this would be a horrible film. Bear with me here, and I will try to explain myself. The story isn't one of a young boy infatuated with the fantasy of the adult film star that lives next door. It isn't about a girl who corrupts a young boy into a world of prostitutes and drugs as he battles the daily social issues of a high school adolescent. None of this could be further from the truth. The Girl Next Door is a fantastically written story of a boy left behind by the social hardships of teenage life who meets a girl caught up in a bad situation. Matt, played by Emile Hirsch, falls in love with Danielle (Cuthbert) before he realizes that she is involved in the adult entertainment industry.. The girl falls in love with the boy's honest infatuation with her as he doesn't know her dirty secret. What happens when he uncovers her seedy past separates this film from the bad perception created by horrible trailers. Matt's view of Danielle becomes tainted as her purity is in question, but the boy can't deny that he loves her. He is willing to give up everything (scholarships, college, and reputation) in order to tell this girl that he loves her. Despite all the odds, the two come together as love prevails. The moral of finding oneself shines as Danielle's helps Matt find happiness within, and Matt reminds Danielle who she really is.
Of course, their road is riddled with obstacles. Matt and his two sidekicks, Eli (Chris Marquette, possibly the highlight of the film) and Klitz (Paul Dano), must navigate an adult industry convention in Las Vegas, a potential bank fraud and the intricacies of each other's mismatched personalities. The main hurdle comes in the form of Danielle's adult film manager Kelly, played by the hilarious Timothy Olyphant, who wants to ruin Matt's life as he has taken the washed up manager's only client and shown her what it feels like to be loved. Olyphant executes Kelly's character flawlessly as he leaves you wanting to be his friend, but scared of what he will do to you if you are. He steals a large sum of money that Matt has raised to bring a brilliant foreign exchange student to study in the United States. In order to re-finance the trip and get Kelly off their backs, Matt and his friends manage to sneak through their high school filming an "adult" project of their own.. The outcome is far from expected and much more wholesome.
To be fair, there are a lot of crude moments, and even some very brief nudity. I am certainly not arguing that this is a family film (It is rated R). However, contrary to what might be the pre-viewing perception, this is a pretty wholesome movie. You just have to watch the whole thing to see that. I recommend, if you like laughing, watching a quality story or just feeling good, you do see this as soon as possible.
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Josh Gloer, Movie Correspondent
You can find Josh's column One Harsh Critic at http://oneharshcritic.gather.com.
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