Should be a lot better, but it's alright (***)

Rating: 7/10 (8 June 2004)

This is one of those times that the 3-star rating is mainly a sentimental one. There are many moments in "The Girl Next Door", mainly in its first half, that capture that awesome 80's-ness of the best teen comedies of the 80's, but at the same time it's not nearly as good as it should (and easily could) be.
Obviously heavily inspired by the 1983 Tom Cruise teen classic "Risky Business" (even the score mimics the "Risky Business" score at key moments), it's about an ambitious but indifferent high school senior named Matthew (Emile Hirsch, "The Dangerous Lives Of Altar Boys") whose comfortable world is thrown into disarray when the stunningly beautiful Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert, from TV's "24") moves in next door.
They strike up a relationship the kind of way that you only see in the movies, but it's very entertaining (and like "Risky Business", it's more about teenage wish-fulfillment than reality), so I didn't mind. Then things get complicated when Matt learns, through his porn-addicted friend Eli (the hilarious Chris Marquette), that Danielle is a porn star.

In the first half, "The Girl Next Door" is a lot of fun. It's well-paced, interesting, funny, and the soundtrack keeps throwing great songs at you. Unfortunately, the second half is dragged down quite a bit by the unnecessary addition of several non-entertaining subplots and characters that distract from what the movie should be about: Matthew's sexual awakening.
Still, even though I almost stuck it with a **1/2, there are just enough good scenes and great songs to get a somewhat-shaky but solid recommendation from me. After all, any movie that makes good use of "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie AND The Who's "Baba O'Riley" (two of my all-time favorite songs) will probably get my vote.