THE GIRL NEXT DOOR
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, Chris Marquette, Paul Dano...
Director: Luke Greenfield
Writer: Brent Goldberg, David Wagner, Stuart Blumberg
Review Date: 02/28/04
Written By: Suj
Rating: 9/10
THE PLOT:
boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy discovers girl is a porn star...and the rest is history.
THE REVIEW:
Into each generation a movie is born and not just any ordinary movie, but a movie that seduces you with its intangible aura and an unspeakable feeling inside your body. "The Girl Next Door" is that movie, the intangible aura is the incredibly seductive Elisha Cuthbert and that unspeakable feeling is the feeling you get when you awake from a lovely dream and noticing that you have soiled yourself.
"The Girl Next Door" begins with over achieving high school senior Matthew Kidman struggling with his yearbook blurb which begins with the phrase "I'll Always Remember...." In the first few minutes we see that Matthew hasn't really enjoyed the whole "high school experience" (skipping class, drinking, getting laid, etc) and that he and his two friends the porn-obsessed Eli and the nerdy Klitz are outsiders in the whole popularity spectrum of the school. Now enter The Girl Next Door, Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert) who is house-sitting for her aunt and when Matthew gets a glimpse of her changing through his window the fun begins. Danielle helps Matthew experience everything he has missed out on the last four years, she helps him take risks whether it be sneaking into the principals swimming pool or crashing the "popular" kids party. Matthew eventually falls for Danielle and vice-versa until her porn-star past is revealed and its then the craziness ensues.
The movie is filled with laughs not so much the laughing your ass off kind, but laughs that suit well to the progress of the story. Their's a sub-plot/running joke about bringing Cambodian teen Samnang, a mathematical genius whom may very well find a cure for cancer, from his jungle village to the upper-middle-class comfort of Westport High which has its moments especially comments made by the student body. A trip to a porn convention provides some good chuckles and the "Ecstasy" scene shows that consuming drugs right before an important dinner results in fun times. Also the word"dude" is utilized to its peek.
Now the soundtrack is beatiful and has that "almost famous" feel to it which underlines the sense of teen rebellion. The two stand out tracks is hands down Queen and David Bowie’s hit “Under Pressure”, and The Who’s “Teenage Wasteland” bringing forth that undescribable feeling of cool.
On the acting front all the cast fulfill their jobs and earned that ten bucks I payed to see this flick. Emile Hirsch displays that charisma, sincerity and outstanding comic abilities -- the "Ecstasy" scene is unforgettable. Elisha Cuthbert a.k.a. Danielle a.k.a. Athenia a.k.a. The Girl Next Door aka the host of "popular mechanics with 'me'" is simply the fantasy of all fantasies. The two best friends Eli (Chris Marquette) and Klitz (Paul Dano) were a thrill to watch and both shined in their roles as a sex-crazed-porn-loving manic and a awkward-nerd respectively. Kelly (Timothy Olyphant) the porn producer was that cool cat we all see in mostly every movie of this kind, the badass if you will and Olyphant played it to a tee.
Behind the camera Luke Greenfield bolds well then his previous effort "The Animal" molding together a well crafted story with some stylistic camera moves with much praise by me. Greenfield makes fine use of fantasy sequences, finding the hazy edge in screwball scenes and capturing the culture of high school.
In closing this is a golden film one of my favorites of the year and it will soon become as re-watchable as "Ferris Bueller..." Also this film can very well be our generations "Risky Business" and it will certainly propel Cuthbert into the hall of fame of hotness. "The Girl Next Door" is very sharp comedy that doesn't rely on gross-out gags that other "teen" comedies dish out, instead theirs an actual story and a good one at that. Its about taking chances, falling in love, and the parallel between experience and innocence. From watching this movie "I'll always remember...that the juice is defiantly worth the squeeze." ...you'll understand my quote when you watch the film.
Director: Luke Greenfield
Writer: Brent Goldberg, David Wagner, Stuart Blumberg
Review Date: 02/28/04
Written By: Suj
Rating: 9/10
THE PLOT:
boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy discovers girl is a porn star...and the rest is history.
THE REVIEW:
Into each generation a movie is born and not just any ordinary movie, but a movie that seduces you with its intangible aura and an unspeakable feeling inside your body. "The Girl Next Door" is that movie, the intangible aura is the incredibly seductive Elisha Cuthbert and that unspeakable feeling is the feeling you get when you awake from a lovely dream and noticing that you have soiled yourself.
"The Girl Next Door" begins with over achieving high school senior Matthew Kidman struggling with his yearbook blurb which begins with the phrase "I'll Always Remember...." In the first few minutes we see that Matthew hasn't really enjoyed the whole "high school experience" (skipping class, drinking, getting laid, etc) and that he and his two friends the porn-obsessed Eli and the nerdy Klitz are outsiders in the whole popularity spectrum of the school. Now enter The Girl Next Door, Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert) who is house-sitting for her aunt and when Matthew gets a glimpse of her changing through his window the fun begins. Danielle helps Matthew experience everything he has missed out on the last four years, she helps him take risks whether it be sneaking into the principals swimming pool or crashing the "popular" kids party. Matthew eventually falls for Danielle and vice-versa until her porn-star past is revealed and its then the craziness ensues.
The movie is filled with laughs not so much the laughing your ass off kind, but laughs that suit well to the progress of the story. Their's a sub-plot/running joke about bringing Cambodian teen Samnang, a mathematical genius whom may very well find a cure for cancer, from his jungle village to the upper-middle-class comfort of Westport High which has its moments especially comments made by the student body. A trip to a porn convention provides some good chuckles and the "Ecstasy" scene shows that consuming drugs right before an important dinner results in fun times. Also the word"dude" is utilized to its peek.
Now the soundtrack is beatiful and has that "almost famous" feel to it which underlines the sense of teen rebellion. The two stand out tracks is hands down Queen and David Bowie’s hit “Under Pressure”, and The Who’s “Teenage Wasteland” bringing forth that undescribable feeling of cool.
On the acting front all the cast fulfill their jobs and earned that ten bucks I payed to see this flick. Emile Hirsch displays that charisma, sincerity and outstanding comic abilities -- the "Ecstasy" scene is unforgettable. Elisha Cuthbert a.k.a. Danielle a.k.a. Athenia a.k.a. The Girl Next Door aka the host of "popular mechanics with 'me'" is simply the fantasy of all fantasies. The two best friends Eli (Chris Marquette) and Klitz (Paul Dano) were a thrill to watch and both shined in their roles as a sex-crazed-porn-loving manic and a awkward-nerd respectively. Kelly (Timothy Olyphant) the porn producer was that cool cat we all see in mostly every movie of this kind, the badass if you will and Olyphant played it to a tee.
Behind the camera Luke Greenfield bolds well then his previous effort "The Animal" molding together a well crafted story with some stylistic camera moves with much praise by me. Greenfield makes fine use of fantasy sequences, finding the hazy edge in screwball scenes and capturing the culture of high school.
In closing this is a golden film one of my favorites of the year and it will soon become as re-watchable as "Ferris Bueller..." Also this film can very well be our generations "Risky Business" and it will certainly propel Cuthbert into the hall of fame of hotness. "The Girl Next Door" is very sharp comedy that doesn't rely on gross-out gags that other "teen" comedies dish out, instead theirs an actual story and a good one at that. Its about taking chances, falling in love, and the parallel between experience and innocence. From watching this movie "I'll always remember...that the juice is defiantly worth the squeeze." ...you'll understand my quote when you watch the film.
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