The Girl Next Door | ||||
Luke Greenfield Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, James Remar, Chris Marquette, Paul Dano, Timothy Bottoms, Donna Bullock 2004 |
Scholarly high-school senior Matthew Kidman (Emile Hirsch) is college-bound and awkward around female classmates in "The Girl Next Door." Then, Danielle a beautiful, impish, slightly older blonde with a secret life in the, um, erotic arts moves next door to the Kidman house. She shows genuine interest in Matthew, and the geek starts growing up in a hurry. It's like "Risky Business" and "American Pie" had a baby, and they called it "The Girl Next Door." All is peachy until Danielle's spontaneity begins to upend Matthew's plans for the future, and the girl's seedy boyfriend pops up. Contrary to the faintly leering vibe of the trailer, director Luke Greenfield has "The Girl Next Door" nimbly dancing from coming-of-age comedy to romance to thriller. Its cast is so sincere and its plot is so well executed that it goes beyond the plethora of teen movies it resembles on the surface. One of the true revelations of "The Girl Next Door" is the performance of young actress Elisha Cuthbert in the title role. Viewers of the TV series "24" have taken notice, often with disdain and annoyance, of Cuthbert as government agent Jack Bauer's pathetic daughter-in-distress Kim. But "24" doesn't do Cuthbert justice. As Danielle, she glistens with the power to seduce an audience as readily as she bewitches Matthew and his nerdy pals. | |||
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