When Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything… came out, I was a senior in high school with straight As and thus, absolutely no chance of having a girlfriend. In other words, hopeless. But seeing that film infused me with a sense of hope and joy that continues to this very day. I got the same vibe from watching The Girl Next Door, even if the old teen comedy it most resembles is Risky Business.

Emile Hirsch (The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys) stars as Matthew, a straight-and-narrow high school senior with dreams of getting a scholarship to Georgetown. Even though he resents the popular crowd and their seemingly carefree lifestyle, he longs to be accepted by someone outside of his small nerd clique.

Enter Danielle (24’s Elisha Cuthbert), housesitting next door for a couple of weeks. Though his initial impression of her is solely lustful (having watched her undress through the window from his room), he quickly discovers – and wins – her heart, and life is perfect.

And then he finds out she’s a porn star. And after the fallout that occurs, he doesn’t simply get back on track academically – he decides their relationship is worth saving. The only thing that stands in his way is her smarmy, drug-addled agent (Timothy “Kids love trains” Olyphant, seemingly channeling Bill Paxton for this film’s Guido the Killer Pimp role), who makes life increasingly difficult for Matthew, including matters of assault, breaking-and-entering and monetary theft. In order to save his own hide and the girl he loves, Matthew enlists his friends to embark on a secretive project that utilizes the prurient talents of Danielle’s peers, although not in the manner you may be led to
believe.

That the film appears to take a third-act “moral fiber” turnaround is just one of its many strengths. It is funny in a way that deftly recalls John Hughes’ body of work and not the recent rash of “oops, my penis got stuck” gross-out gags that pass for humor these days. It is smart, dark and, above all,
heartfelt. It’s odd to think that such a porno-centric movie could be emotionally touching, but that’s exactly what director Luke Greenfield (in a wholly different league than his The Animal debut) has pulled off. (And bonus points to Greenfield for scoring his film with the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen and David Gray instead of the usual rap-rock and alternabrats with numbers in their
snot-nosed names.)

Hirsch and Cuthbert are completely winning in their roles. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to think that Hirsch would fall for her and vice versa, even if the movie completely avoids the nagging issue of her whoredom. But because he simply and unconditionally accepts who she is, we have to as well, instead of looking down on her – much like Tom Cruise did with Rebecca DeMornay. This isn’t just this generation’s Risky Business – it pretty much is Risky Business, in tone, in style and in smarts.

To paraphrase Olyphant’s character, the juice is well worth the squeeze.

Review by Rod Lott.