Girl Next Door, The
Matinee
I cannot deny that this film has more "that was lucky!" moments and
stilted plot elements than anything recently opening, but I also must
attest that this movie was far, far more enjoyable than it appears to
be. Two burly men seated behind me were muttering as they left about
how they expected it to be some chick flick romantic comedy (why were
they there?) and generally they sounded pleasantly surprised to watch
this movie, and not just because we get to see 24's Elisha Cuthbert
in a thong.
Starting with a grin-inducing montage straight out of a Bud
Light/Pringles commercial, we meet the apparent love child of
Leonardo DeCaprio and 1980's Rob Lowe, Matthew Kidman played by Emile
Hirsch. One of Matthew's best buddies in this film is fellow
Emperor's Club alum Paul Dano, and porn aficionado Christopher George
Marquette makes three. These guys are well written as a unit of
nerdly friends with quirks and commonalities, and plenty of charm.
Enter the dame, Danielle, (Cuthbert), a former adult film star who
moves in next door and takes a liking to her handsome young neighbor.
More than once, there is distinct use of the music from (or
specifically reminiscient of) Risky Business, much to my amusement. A
series of wacky but sweet hijinks ensue untilŠ
Timothy Olyphant (Go) enters the story. This guy has a screen
presence that can blow away any piddly character who dares to hope to
be as cool as Olyphant's. He brings zing just as the movie starts
getting a little squishy and aimless, and a good dose of comedy and
danger, as he always seems to do as an actor. The whole conceit of
the story is pretty funny, and it winds improbably toward a pretty
goofball ending, but all the principals are so dang likeable and
committed to their parts, you can't help but get caught up and enjoy
it.
Maybe it's the comparative playing field of the early spring
crap-movie doldrums, but I really did enjoy this film a lot. It's a
fun ride with danger, comedy, sweetness, and a hint of porn. Who
could ask for anything more? Fellas, you get your hot chicks in
thongs. Gals, you get your adorable naked teens, too. A dash of
Ferris Bueller (this time with humility) and a well-timed drug trip,
and it's a pleasant, disposable movie that you might secretly watch
every now and again for years before realizing everyone else does it
too. My rating seems high, I am sure, considering the writers'
biggest credit between them is Van Wilder, and they might have
benefitted from a tweak here and there, but the spirit of the film is
winsome and funny and enjoyable all around, so we forgive a little
"what the - ?" here and there, when the journey is pleasant enough.
And damn if Timothy Olyphant can't make everything better (you might
also recall him as the best part of Dreamcatcher).
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These reviews (c) 2004 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to
forward but credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks. You can
check out previous reviews at:
http://www.cinerina.com and http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com - the
Online Film Critics Society
http://www.hsbr.net/reviews/karina/listing.hsbr - Hollywood Stock
Exchange Brokerage Resource
========== X-RAMR-ID: 37546 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 1271412 X-RT-TitleID: 1130343 X-RT-SourceID: 755 X-RT-AuthorID: 3661 X-RT-RatingText: 4/5
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