Elisha and much more

Rating: 6/10 (6 September 2004)

"The Girl Next Door" (spoilers ahead) is a romantic comedy, marked by the relationship between Matt (Emile Hirsch) and Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert). "The neighbor" is the motor of the film, the one that move the rest of the characters, although soon the tape is centered more around the problems that Matt has to undergo to reconquer Danielle and ultimately save his professional future.
During the first part the film gives the expected, following one another typical scenes of the teen cinema: parties in luxury apartments, boy running naked along the street after being deceived...
Everything changes when Kelly (Timothy Olyphant, brilliant in this movie), Danielle's producer, appears to get her back to her beginnings, a porn star. The moments of humor increase considerably with him, although at the same time the tone of the tape gets more serious. That gives the film a welcome touch of drama that often lacks in this genre.
The last third of the film is all a succession of frenetic scenes headed towards the typical happy ending, although it comes with a surprise touch.
All in all, a refreshing movie worth the view. It's funny, the play develops quite smoothly and of course Elisha is delightful from start to finish.