Development for The Girl Next Door began as early as 2001. The film's screenplay was partly inspired by Risky Business (1983).[9] Principal photography occurred primarily in Los Angeles County, California and Las Vegas. The film features cinematography by Eric Alan Edwards and a score by Paul Haslinger.
The Girl Next Door premiered at the Texas Film Festival on February 18, 2004, before being theatrically distributed nationwide by 20th Century Fox on April 9, 2004. It received reviews, with praise for its performances but criticism for tonal inconsistencies. Though it underperformed at the box office, The Girl Next Door later gained a cult following through home media and television, with retrospective appreciation for its genre subversion and portrayal of the adult entertainment industry.[1][10][11][12]
Plot
Matthew Kidman, an ambitious high school senior in suburban California, has been accepted to Georgetown University but lacks the funds to attend. As class president, he raises $25,000 to help a Cambodian student, Samnang Sok, study in the United States, but feels his own high school experience has been uneventful. His closest friends, Eli and Klitz, are more focused on mischief and adult films than academics or self-reflection.
Matthew's routine changes when Danielle, an attractive young woman, moves in next door. After a series of playful and flirtatious interactions, the two begin a tentative romance. Their relationship is disrupted when Matthew learns from Eli that Danielle is a former adult film actress. Following misguided advice from his friends, Matthew takes Danielle to a motel and treats her inappropriately, leading her to end the relationship and consider returning to the adult industry.
Determined to make amends, Matthew tracks Danielle to an adult film convention in Las Vegas, where he confronts her former producer and ex-boyfriend, Kelly. Despite Kelly's threats, Matthew convinces Danielle to leave the industry. Days later, Kelly retaliates by abducting Matthew and coercing him into stealing from a rival producer, Hugo Posh. After narrowly escaping police capture, Matthew arrives at a scholarship dinner under the influence of ecstasy and gives an impromptu speech but fails to secure the award.
Kelly escalates the conflict by posing as a school advisor and stealing the $25,000 fund. To recover the money and clear Matthew's name, Danielle proposes producing an adult film featuring her former colleagues and Matthew's classmates during their senior prom. Eli directs the film, and Klitz unexpectedly steps into a key role. The project is a success, and Matthew and Danielle become intimate.
The next day, Kelly arrives at Matthew's home with a copy of the film, threatening to expose him and ruin his chances of attending Georgetown. However, upon viewing it, Matthew's parents and principal are surprised to find that it is a modern sex education video. Realizing the film's value, they reluctantly support its distribution. Kelly, defeated but impressed, begrudgingly concedes.
Matthew partners with Hugo Posh to distribute the film, earning more than enough to fund Samnang's education and pay for his tuition. Eli begins a promising film career immediately after High School, Klitz gains new confidence for his role in the adult film, and Matthew departs for Georgetown with Danielle by his side.
Commenting on the film's original screenplay, Greenfield said: "It was a different film. It was very tawdry, a teen sex comedy. It was just nothing like what I wanted to do. But the premise, of a kid falling in love with a porn star who moves in next door and is trying to escape her past, really excited me on a number of levels."[1] The screenplay was reworked with contributions from Stuart Blumberg.[1] While Greenfield and McKenna contributed to the film's story and screenplay, neither were credited; Blumberg, David T. Wagner, and Brent Goldberg received screenwriting credit.[1] Greenfield noted: "I directed the movie, so at least I got credit, but Chris really got screwed. He really did. He never got his name on it."[1]
Casting
Greenfield auditioned a number of actors for the film, including Katherine Heigl and Chris Evans.[1] In October 2002, it was reported that Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert had signed on to star in the film as Matthew and Danielle, respectively.[9] Hirsch was cast after Greenfield saw an audition tape he had recorded for Gus Van Sant's Elephant (2003).[1] For the role of Danielle, the studio originally sought Katie Holmes, but Greenfield insisted on casting Cuthbert, who had recently completed Old School (2003).[1] "She was so hungry. I remember meeting her and she had done so much preparation," Greenfield recalled. "She had all these pictures of different looks that Danielle would have. She was 20 years old at the time. She was talking about the character and she had such maturity."[1]
Timothy Olyphant was cast in the role of Danielle's ex-boyfriend, Kelly, after Brad Pitt passed on the project.[1]Olivia Wilde, who had originally worked as a casting intern on the project, made her screen debut in the film in a minor role as high school student Kellie.[1][14]
The Girl Next Door premiered at the Texas Film Festival at Texas A&M University on February 18, 2004,[22] followed by sneak previews in select cities on March 20, 2004.[23] It was subsequently theatrically released in the United States by 20th Century Fox on April 9, 2004, opening in 2,148 theaters.[3][8]
Home video and rights
On August 24, 2004, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released an unrated version of the film on DVD.[24] 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment also released this unrated version on Blu-ray on September 1, 2009.[25]
In 2019, Rupert Murdoch sold most of 21st Century Fox's film and television assets to Disney. However, much of The Girl Next Door's underlying rights were with production company Regency Enterprises rather than Fox, and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation are not mentioned as one of the copyright holders in the credits.[26] At the time of the sale, Fox had a 20% stake in Regency Enterprises, and this 20% stake was transferred to Disney when they purchased the Fox entertainment assets.[27]
Reception
Box office
The Girl Next Door grossed $14.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $15.8 million in international markets, for a worldwide total of approximately $30.4 million.[8]
Critical response
On the review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 56% based on 159 reviews, with an average score of 5.6/10. The website's consensus reads, "The movie borrows heavily from Risky Business (1983), though Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert are appealing leads."[28]Metacritic reports a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[29] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[30]
Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film as a "sharp, vivacious comedy."[31]Desson Thomson of The Washington Post described it as "an entertaining affair whose wild-card creativity never ceases to surprise."[32] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman gave the film a "B−", noting that while it was derivative, "this genial cardboard knockoff is contrived from the start but gets better as it goes along."[33]
In a more mixed review, Joe Leydon of Variety criticized the film's "shamelessly derivative" script, drawing comparisons to Risky Business, American Pie (1999), and 1980s teen romances. He described the lead performances as "attractive but bland," though he praised Timothy Olyphant's "scene-stealing turn."[34]A. O. Scott of The New York Times observed that the film presents a "nonjudgmental, even celebratory" view of pornography but noted a contradictory tone in portraying Danielle as someone in need of rescue. He concluded that the film "wallow[s]" in its own contradiction without offering much genuine pleasure.[35]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one and a half stars out of four, calling it a "nasty piece of business" and criticizing its misleading marketing as a teen comedy.[36]
↑ McDermott, John (May 17, 2017). "The Internet Killed the Teen Sex Comedy". MelMagazine.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2025. The Girl Next Door (2004) is something of a cult classic now, but it failed to make its money back in theaters.
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