Film Reviews

Girl Next Door

• Rating:
• Director: Luke Greenfield.
• Starring: Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Nicholas Downs, Timothy Olyphant, Sung Hi Lee, Chris Marquette, Paul Dano, Amanda Swisten, James Remar.
• Details: US / 110 mins / (15PG).

Overly long, drawn out teenage comedy which attempts to riff off familiar sources of teenage sex flicks with very limited success. The smug Emile Hirsch plays Matthew Kidman, an 18-year-old high school senior who seems to have it all going for him. A conscientious student representative, he spends his days wondering how to help out an underprivileged Cambodian student, while holding onto his dream of - get this - becoming President of the United States. Things get a little crazy when his new neighbour, Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert), turns out to be a former porn star, who is determined to start a new life for herself in his quiet suburb. Unlikely as it sounds, Danielle falls for the self-conscious youngster, but she brings an awful lot of baggage with her. Oh and some rather nasty acquaintances... Think Risky Business with a little less direction and urgency (if that's possible), and you're someway towards the reality of The Girl Next Door. The picture adheres too readily and far too rigidly to a formula with most of the scenes abandoning any sort of real development in favour of a bland alt-rock soundtrack, which merely highlights the underwritten nature of the material. Funnily enough, there's an interesting film about sexual attitudes and promiscuity screaming to get out here, but The Girl Next Door is so caught up in the incessant need for the quick fire gag that it misses the mark. But it's not all bad news: Timothy Olyphant tries his best to single-handily save the movie with a charmingly sleazy performance which occasionally becomes something more and dangerous. However, he's reigned in before he can take the film to unpredictable levels which says more about the ambitions of the filmmakers.

Review by Garreth Murphy