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Stars:
Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, James Remar, Chris Marquette,
and Paul Dano
Writers:
Stuart Blumberg, David T. Wagner, and Brent Goldberg
Based
On A Story By: David T Wagner and Brent Goldberg
Director:
Luke Greenfield
Feature
length: 109 minutes
Extras:
Director’s Commentary, Scene Specific Commentary Tracks With Stars Emile
Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert, Trivia Track, Uncensored/Deleted Scenes With
Optional Director’s Commentary, Gag Reel, Featurettes, Photo Gallery, Trailers
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and French and Spanish Language Dolby
Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 28
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2004/DVD Release: 2004
Theatrical
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Home
Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Unrated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
“The
Girl Next Door” is a funny comedy that in many ways is very reminiscent of the
1980s Tom Cruise hit “Risky Business.” The elements are quite different, but
there is a lot of structural similarity to the story that regardless of what
Director Luke Greenfield thinks in terms of intentions are still hard not to
draw comparisons between both films. The basic screenplay paradigms for both
films are extremely similar. Matthew Kidman is a bright 18 year old high school
senior with dreams of one day becoming the President of the United States. (He’s
the first teenage character I’ve seen since Alex P. Keaton to have posters of
an American president in his bedroom.) Matthew recently was accepted into
Georgetown University, but unless he gets a scholarship, he may not be going
anywhere. So Mathew leads a life of careful calculation, avoiding risks, and to
some extent experiencing some teenage regret because he sees everyone around him
having a great time and he is just too fearful to take a chance. All that
changes when he meets the girl next door (Elisha Cuthbert), who is housesitting
while trying to find a new direction in her life. She’s only two years older
than him, but emotionally she can read him for the innocent, but well meaning
young man he is. So the two begin a quasi-romantic relationship that catches the
attention of everyone at his high school. When he learns from his two nerdy
friends that she is an Adult Film Star, Matthew has to decide if he trusts her
for the person he knows she is on the inside, regardless of her past, or just
see her as a sex object.
Forgetting
about what I noted above regarding “Risky Business,” since you all who have
seen it can decide for yourselves if I’m right or wrong, there is a genuine
sense of heart and fun to “The Girl Next Door” and the film is definitely a
notch above the average teenage sex comedy while maintaining a certain amount of
realism or as much as you can buy into with this kind of film. Basically it is a
fantasy. Yes teenagers have taken Porn Stars to their proms, but regardless of
whether you believe art imitates life or life imitates art; there are just some
things that only seem to work out in the movies, at least for most of us
mortals. As great as the leads are in this picture, I have to point out two
standout performances. Timothy Olyphant is terrific as the girl next door’s
former Porn Producer and Chris Marquette is hilarious as one of Matthew’s
friends who sees the entire situation as his ticket to Hollywood or at least
“Porn Valley.”
It is interesting to note that the only real adult film star credited in
the film is Benjamin Parks AKA Steven St. Croix. Amanda Swisten and Sung Hi Lee
seem so convincing as Adult Film Actresses that I was surprised to read on
IMDB.com that the closest one of them has ever got to adult films is appearing
in Penthouse a few times and while some might still consider that porn, I think
there is a huge difference between posing on camera and actually having someone
record it. James Remar lends his presence as a rival Adult Film Producer with a
trained attack bird. (No pun intended.)
Presented
in an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio, “The Girl Next Door”
looks terrific. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is very well
balanced too. French and Spanish Language Dolby Surround Soundtracks and English
Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired as well as Spanish
Language Subtitles are encoded onto the DVD as option. Director Luke Greenfield
delivers an informative screen specific feature length audio commentary where he
points out exactly which scenes are different between this version and the
theatrical cut and it really isn’t the sexy stuff that has been altered all
that much. He also provides optional commentary for 16 deleted/extended scenes
that include an alternate ending, which are presented for the most part
letterboxed from an early cut of the film. Hirsh and Cuthbert each provide
separate scene specific comments on the flip side of the DVD and in some ways I
found the comments to be interesting, but sometimes they are a bit dull too. A
behind-the-scenes featurette and a humorous short with Chris Marquette
pretending to be his high school graduate turned Adult Filmmaker screen
counterpart playing a few gags on some unsuspecting guys with the help of
Professional Wrestler Horshu. There is also a gag reel and a photo gallery as
well as trailers for “The Girl Next Door,” “a Fox comedy on DVD promo,
“Club Dread” and “There’s Still Something About Mary.” A pop-up trivia
track can be activated while watching the film with any soundtrack option also.
The menus are all well rendered and easy to navigate. “The Girl Next Door:
Unrated Version: Widescreen Edition” is available on DVD-Video now at
retailers on and offline from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2004 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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