The Girl Next Door (2004) @ arturmarques.com

I really enjoyed “The Girl Next Door” (tgnd).

This is an extremely professional movie, that – despite its downtrend, from half point – regularly surprises the viewer and is very efficient on sparking emotional responses, like nostalgia, laughter and even sexual arousal!

The first sign of professionalism, is the choice of Elisha Cuthbert, for the role of Danielle. For many, Elisha is best known, as “Kim Bauer”, from the “24” TV series. “Kim” is an ungrateful character, because she is the daughter of the series’ main man – Jack Bauer – which means she spends most of the episodes running around, screaming here and there, hardly having a chance to shine… still, those short sequences were enough to exhibit a very attractive 20 years old girl.

[By popular request,] tgnd shows Elisha’s body a lot more, without full disclosure… and – again – without giving her the full means to really perform.

The young actors and actresses in tgnd, play believable main characters, although the secondary personages aren’t as solid.

The script is about the effect Danielle had on the life of Matthew (Emile Hirsch): about the limbo between pure hormonal drive and more complex feelings; and about how friendship can help flip the most daunting situations.

The reason I consider there is a “downtrend”, is because the Danielle character fades, as the Matthew character rises – it would have been great to conciliate the two.

The sex industry is considerably present: (1) there are chapters shot at the annual Las Vegas adult movies convention; (2) the xxx video where Matthew’s friend, Eli, finds that Danielle is/was a porn star, actually includes a real life xxx actor (Steven Croix); and (3) the woman shown in the magazine at the beginning of the film is Brianna Banks.

Despite these xxx elements, tgnd is far from “offensive”: I label it an intense comedy!

My Rating: 7/10

External Links:
http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/review.asp?ID=188
http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=2861

Shop: DVD (USA) | DVD (Europe) | Poster*

*Poster info:
Title: The Girl Next Door (2004)
Type: Framed Art Print
Frame: SoHo (3 cm)
Finished Size: 36 x 51 cm