The Girl Next Door (2004)
★★★ — The Girl Next Door (2004)
A loose spiritual cousin to Risky Business (1983), The Girl Next Door was released by Regency Enterprises in early 2004, squarely within that mid-2000s cycle of raunchy teen comedies riding the post-American Pie wave. Director Luke Greenfield had made the mildly received The Animal (2002) beforehand and would largely fade from feature work after this, making it something of an odd one-out in his career. Shot partly in Canada standing in for suburban America, the film gave Emile Hirsch one of his earliest leading roles before his more serious work in films like Into the Wild (2007). Timothy Olyphant, already building a reputation for edgy supporting turns, plays against a largely young cast. Paul Dano also appears in an early role.
TRIPOD! Surprisingly good for a mid 2000s teen comedy. Emile Hirsch is a hugely underrated actor and this was Paul Dano's debut if I'm not mistaken. Round that off with Elisha Cuthbert and Timothy Oliphant and you've got a solid as hell cast. The story is ridiculous and of course it has it's raunchy moments but the acting, the soundtrack and the comedy more than make this a decent watch.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 2004 | Watched: 2025-04-08
Where to watch (UK)
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