Brilliant coming of age flick and a rip-off of Risky Business all in one

Rating: 9/10 (24 August 2004)

I was completely blown away by this movie. The first half hour was what I expected from the commercials - the typical teenage sex romp, T&A flick that has been done a million times, showing nothing more inventive than American Pie or Porky's before it. At this point I wrote the movie off as nothing better, nothing worse then what came before it.
Then, at about the hour mark, it morphs into one of the best coming of age movies Hollywood has produced in a long time. Suddenly the story is not about Elisha Cuthbert's physical attributes (though they are lovely), but about the perfect student/son breaking out of his cocoon and finding his true self in the ether.
At the same time the movie transforms from a fairly standard teen flick into one of the more bizarre comedies released in some time. The movie unleashes a series of plot twists stranger than the one before it, culminating in an inventive climax and resolution.
Add in some of the biggest belly laughs I've had at the movies since Old School, and it becomes perhaps the second most brilliant movie in the coming of age genre after Fast Times.
Now, that said, it is important to note that "Girl Next Door" is a total ripoff of Risky Business. And a lazy one at that. The similarities are many - perfect son/student rescues sweet girl from flesh trade, fighting off evil, violent pimp/manager, etc. In fact, they go as deep as the editing and the way particular music was used to highlight key scenes.
The assessment? If you can forget cinematic history, this is one of the more inventive, original and charming pieces of comedic cinema I have experienced in the last, say, five years. If you must remain true to what has come previously, it's a charming rip-off.
9/10