Before he lost himself in the wilderness or refueled Speed Racer, Hirsch played a frustrated high school senior upset with the boring legacy he’s leaving behind.
“What I’ll always remember about high school is…”
Unable to complete that sentence with anything exciting, Matthew Kidman (Emile Hirsch) turns his honor roll life upside down by involving himself in the world of porn. The Girl Next Door launched Hirsch’s career and made the movie-going public aware of a few other stars as well. The Girl Next Door was an unexpected comedy in its time and remains a refreshing film full of breakout roles.
High school is hell. Let’s just put that out there. If you’re not a jock, then maybe you’re in band? If not on the football team, maybe you joined the math team? Matthew has a student record that would get him in to any college – but he lacks the money to make his dreams come true. He’s waist-deep in a competition for a young leaders scholarship and is trying valiantly to bring a prodigious youth over from an impoverished nation. Who wouldn’t want this kid in their student body?
Matthew Kidman, that’s who.
He’s miserable as the do-gooder in the student body and longs for some sort of adventure. Matthew isn’t alone in this goal: his friends Eli (Chris Marquette) and Klitz (Paul Dano) grow tired of their boring high school lives and want something memorable for their high school experience. The tripod (as the three affectionately call themselves) gets their wish when a mysterious and drop-dead gorgeous girl moves in next-door to Matthew. Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert) gravitates towards Matthew’s naivete and pulls him in to a week of folly that has his head spinning. But his happy-go-lucky ambitions with Danielle screech to a halt when he discovers that Danielle might not be just another innocent teen: she’s a porn star. Enter Kelly (Timothy Olyphant), Danielle’s strong-arm agent and director who dislikes the romantic notions Matthew’s putting into her head. Kelly and Matthew become embroiled in a struggle for Danielle’s soul which, more often than not, leaves Matthew on the short end of the stick.
Hirsch gives a fine performance but he’s really feeding off the greatness of Marquette (Fanboys) and Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood) in their respective roles as ambitious filmmaker and shy bookworm. Hirsch is the weakest of the three, but even the tripod can’t stand erect in the face of Olyphant whose gritty charm oozes equal parts sleaze and violence. Olyphant’s every word comes leavened with a promise of inevitable pain if he isn’t given everything he asks for, and it’s this quality which inexorably pushes the film’s plot along.
There are subtle shades of examining the porn industry’s establishing women as mere props, but really the film focuses more on the clashing of two polar personalities: the sheltered student and the jaded sex symbol. It proposes that the two long for a similar break in their routines but for wholly different reasons. Each wants a slice of the other’s pie only to have the pros and cons of each revealed. It’s not a fish out of water tale, but it creates the same allegory in a way that’s new and refreshing…and funny.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Being a relatively recent picture, the video and audio quality are top-rung and the supply of extras healthy. Once you’ve slogged through all the commentaries (feature-length by Director Luke Greenfield, specific scenes by Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert, albeit separately), you’ll get an amusing featurette centered on Chris Marquette’s brash Eli character and a making-of piece. The gag reel is pretty funny and will prove far more interesting than any of the deleted scenes.
If you never bought it on DVD, The Girl Next Door warrants a purchase and should be seen by any who haven’t as of yet. It was an unexpected treat, so give it a try.
"The Girl Next Door" is on sale September 1, 2009 and is rated NR. Comedy. Directed by Luke Greenfield. Written by David Wagner, Brent Goldberg. Starring Christopher Marquette, Emile Hirsch, James Remar, Paul Dano, Timothy Olyphant, Elisha Cuthbert.
