:
Elisha Cuthbert,
Elisha Cuthbert,
Emile Hirsch,
more...
:
Luke Greenfield,
Luke Greenfield
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: 20th Century Fox
: Romantic Comedy, Coming of Age
: 109 min.
: English, Spanish, French
: English, Spanish
see additional details...
Recently Rented By phour20
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Boy meets girl who's already met all sorts of boys and girls in this teen-slanted comedy. Matthew Kidman (Emile Hirsch) is a straight-laced and highly ambitious high school student who plans to study at Georgetown University and dreams of a career in politics. While most of his classmates are in the throes of an epidemic of senioritis, Matthew is obsessed with schoolwork and has a hard time relaxing and having fun. But he finds himself a bit less focused on his future career when Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert), a beautiful 19-year-old blonde, moves in next door. Danielle is playful, spontaneous, and doesn't always remember to draw her shades, and before long Matthew is head over heels in love. Danielle soon finds herself taken with Matthew as well, but their relationship takes an unusual turn when he discovers that, before she moved to town, Danielle had a successful career as a porn actress. Matthew is able to convince Danielle that she's cut out for better things in life than appearing in porn videos, but his advice doesn't especially please Kelly (Timothy Olyphant) or Hugo (James Remar), two porn moguls who figure Matthew owes them big-time after convincing their leading lady to drop out of the adult industry. The Girl Next Door -- which, appropriately enough, shares its title with a 1999 documentary about adult film superstar Stacy Valentine -- also features Timothy Bottoms, Paul Dano, and Chris Marquette. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| Teen Entrepreneurs
by talltale
August 28, 2004 - 4:54 PM PDT
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7 out of 9 members found this review helpful
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| Word has it that THE GIRL NEXT DOOR is slowly becoming a minor classic. Maybe. It received very mixed reviews, ranging from good to so awful that certain reviewers refused to honor it with even half a star. Yet it holds your attention, features some nice performances (particularly from Timothy Olyphant, who knocks another one out of the park), and offers a new wrinkle on the "prostitute with a heart of gold": this time she's a porn star. What the movie manages to do especially well is conflate the young-man-comes-of-age story with a tale of the "successful American entrepreneur." Comparisons to "Risky Business" are in order here, and along the way, almost by accident (unless this is truly clever work by the writer and director), you get some insights into the meaning of morality, maturity, love and sex education. And the ending satisfies in surprising ways. Classic or no, I'd give THE GIRL NEXT DOOR a shot: Any movie that divides people so thoroughly is worth a look. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 5.78)
81 Votes
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