The Girl Next Door

Wow! What a train wreck of a movie. Not all bad and not all good, colliding together to form a jumbled mess. The script is terrible from every different point: dialog, flow and believability. A high school senior falls in love with the, unknown to him, porn star next door. Predictability ensues. He freaks out, but tries to win her back, eventually succeeds and they team together to gain control of his life. Sound a little like Risky Businesses? It is. Not as charming or coherent, but a decent remake that isn't a remake.

However, Timothy Olyphant's performance as a scumbag porno film producer is a bright spot and he steals the show. Cuthbert and Hirsch do fine jobs with what they are given, as do the two young men who play hursch's friends. Even though it was a dumbed down version of The Graduate meets Risky Business, I found myself laughing a few times. The eye candy was nice as well. With all this you would expect a healthy dose of gross-out humor, but there was none. Which, for me, was a very nice and welcome surprise. I'm torn, this movie gives me a lot of things to enjoy, while trying to hurt me at the same time. Should you see it? If you're stoned and horny, this is you're movie. If you're into James Joyce and Ronald Reagan, Skip it. If your like me and like cerebral comedy and seeing Elisha Cuthbert in her underwear, you will be torn.

Grade: C