Reviewed by FRANCESCA RUDKIN
(Herald rating * * *)
This film was sold to me as Sweet Sixteen meets American Pie, and that about sums it up. It's not an original idea, but this story is a little more risque than most high-school teen flicks and it has moments of total hilarity.
Matthew Kidman (Hirsch) is a nice guy, a smart dude who aspires to be the President of the United States. Accepted to Georgetown University, all Matthew needs to do, to accept his place at the university of his dreams, is to win a scholarship based on moral fibre (whatever that means).
Being the swot he is, this isn't a problem until Danielle (Cuthbert), a mysterious blonde babe, moves in next door. Much to Matthew's surprise they start dating, and all is going terribly well until Matthew's geeky friends Eli and Klitz discover Danielle is a porn star.
Most teenage boys would be over the moon about this news, but Matthew has no idea how to handle the situation and, to add to his troubles, Danielle's ex-boss and boyfriend Kelly (Olyphant) has come to town to convince her to return to work.
Matthew finds himself attending an adult entertainment conference in Vegas, taking E, and breaking the law to try to prevent Danielle being sucked back into the seedy world she has escaped. His moral fibre is challenged a little more than Matthew would like, but finally something wild is happening to him.
Halfway through, The Girl Next Door gets caught up in its own cleverness, the pace slows, and the laughs die down, but it recovers with an amusing ending.
Hirsch is likeable. Although he makes you grimace at his predictably naive decisions, you find yourself hoping that it all works out. And you've got to admit, Cuthbert, who will be familiar from her role in 24, looks hot in this, her first starring role in a feature film.
But it's the supporting actors that contribute the spontaneous humour that makes this film a fun, if forgettable, watch. That is, if you're not a teenage boy.
CAST: Elisha Cuthbert, Emile Hirsch, Timothy Olyphant
DIRECTOR: Luke Greenfield
RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes
RATING: R16 (contains offensive language and sex scenes)
SCREENING: Hoyts, and Village Cinemas
The Girl Next Door
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.