Elisha Cuthbert is stunning and I can't seem to stop watching this film

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2019)

I watched The Girl Next Door for the first time about a week ago. I've watched it probably 6 times since. (Well, not all of it...just every damn scene Danielle is in). I gave the movie 9 stars but it's probably not that good. It's difficult to gauge because I am so hopelessly distracted by and in love with Elisha Cuthbert's Danielle. Every single second she is in it is absolute gold. It is without a doubt the hottest female character created in the history of film and one of the most underrated performances I've ever seen by an actress. Danielle is the perfect woman. An ex-porn star looking to turn her life around that falls for a nice guy that is the opposite of the guys she's probably been with. What guy hasn't fantasized about the perfect scenario?
So Elisha is hot. That's obvious. She's flawless at this point in her career. But a lot of credit goes to the director for shooting her in a way where every guy in the world watching her will fall in love with her. Make no mistake, this isn't about just some 10/10 girl in a film looking hot. It's the perfect girl created perfectly by an outstanding actress at the peak of her incredible beauty. Elisha does so much with the role that is somewhat passive and subtle. Everyone talks about the "Do you wanna F+++ me" and the usual scenes, but there's so much else she does right. The way she kisses his hand when they're dancing at the prom. The way she says, near tears, "I would love to" when he asks her to the prom. Her extreme sadness when he takes her to the hotel room. "So this is what you think of me". It's all so perfectly done by Elisha Cuthbert. Her facial expressions, her eyes. I'm mesmerized. I know I am not alone. I have read comments on various forums, YouTube, etc. It's an inexplicable feeling many seem to have. I feel great while watching it, but feel kind of sad and depressed when I'm done. I call this affliction Elishatism. ;-) The last couple times I have watched it I actually cried, and I never cry---and it's so hard to put into words what it is.. I guess I would best describe it as this feeling of seeing something/someone so perfect, so beautiful, so flawless, but knowing its not attainable or real. I have become obsessed with a fictional character that is 14 years old. It's totally nuts. Knowing I'm not alone is helpful though.

Oh the film? This is not just another teen sex comedy. This film has outstanding acting and an amazing genuine "feel" to it where you feel like you're watching a genuine realistic romance unfold, but it probably doesn't deserve 9 stars. There's a lot done very well but a lot wrong with it. The most frustrating and excruciating thing wrong is that after about halfway through, Danielle's screen time disappears. The greatest asset this film has is Elisha's Danielle.
The plot line with Spoilers: Danielle falls for Matthew an average high school senior, who's got a great heart, but hasn't lived life. Matthew is played perfectly by Emile Hirsch, who deserves a lot of credit, but is completely overshadowed by Elisha Cuthbert. The romance happens, then he discovers she''s a porn star, screws up by treating her like a porn star, she runs away, he goes and saves her, she comes back. This is only halfway through the film at this point. The romance was extremely rushed. The last half of this film is where it goes totally sideways. There's a lot of stuff happening that centers more on Matthew, with Danielle just watching and cheering him on. I would have loved to see the romance build slowly throughout the film with a lot more development of Danielle's character. Where did she come from? Why a porn star? What is with her family or parents? None of that is explored. She's just this mysterious beautiful porn star. There's so mush more that could have been done surrounding her character, their romance, etc.
Elisha Cuthbert is fantastic with what the script gives her. The first half she's assertive in a really hot way, kind of taking control of Matthew, and showing him how to live life. After Matthew has brought her back from Vegas, the character of Danielle begins to morph into someone very sweet and vulnerable. You see how in love with Matthew she is and she seems to be a bit more submissive. The best word is vulnerable. You see that side of her in the end in many ways
When Danielle and Matthew finally have sex, I think there's a subtle thing going on in that Danielle is having sex for the first time with someone she cares about. Her facial expressions show me that she's feeling things she's never felt. It's really beautiful in my eyes and Elisha did such an amazing job with that..Again, that's the agonizing part of this film. There's so much done right, and so many great scenes, and great lines, but there's so many flaws and God I wish they took advantage of Elisha Cuthbert's performance more. Elisha, thank you for this performance. A lot of us appreciate it for the depth that I think you were going for. You are a star and you're beautiful. This film is a treasure because of you