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Another film makes its way onto Blu-Ray, with a big “why bother?”

There have been countless films with the title The Girl Next Door over the years.  While some of the plots may sound similar this is where splitting the video store into genres really pays off because you could get something you really don’t want.  Take three of the more recent films with that title, they all revolve around sex, but in very different ways.  One is a documentary about a porn star, the other a teen sex comedy about the porn star next door and the last is about a teenage girl who is raped and abused by her family and peers.  If you were to pop that last disc into your DVD player while you were gearing up for some comedy you would be in a bad place.  Luckily this is a hard thing to accidentally happen, mainly thanks to Elisha Cuthbert’s sultry pose on the cover.

During his senior year in high school Matthew Kidman (Emile Hirsch) needs to do something exciting with his life.  Up until now everything has been about studying, being a good student and trying to get into the college of his dreams.  Everything changes when Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert) moves in next door.  She quickly becomes a main source of fun and gives him courage he never knew he had.  They fall for each other, but things change when he discovers her past as a porn actress.  As if this weren’t bad enough her ex-boyfriend, and adult film producer, Kelly (Timothy Olyphant) shows up and drags her back into the business.  Matthew follows her to Vegas to talk her out of the lifestyle, but when he does Kelly loses money and bad things begin to happen.

Aside from some slight similarities to Risky Business this flick has some pretty fun moments.  Most of the film is very far fetched, and it’s definitely not in the top tier of teen sex films, but it is enjoyable.  The course these students take through the world of adult film is a bumpy one.  For the type of film this is, and with its subject matter, it is not near as raunchy as you would believe.  Sure, there is plenty of sex driven humor, but nothing on par with the American Pies of the world.  There is nudity, but don’t get your hopes up for a peak at Cuthbert in the buff.  You see more of Hirsch. 

This film has been out for five years so the question is - is it worth updating to this Blu-Ray edition from the standard DVD?  To be blunt, no.  This has got to be the worst transfer I have seen on a Blu release, especially when considering this was made in 2004.  The blacks aren’t too black, the brights aren’t really bright and there is a ton of noise and grain on the screen.  It makes me wonder if they even touched the transfer at all.

All of the bonus features are still in standard definition and ported over from the original DVD release.  Director commentary and, separate, scene specific commentaries by Hirsch and Cuthbert along with some deleted/extended scenes and a brief standard EPK making-of are not too exhilarating.  The gag reel is not one of the best ones out there, but the stand out winner in the bonus department is most definitely “The Eli Experience.”  Here they take the character Eli (Chris Marquette) to the Adult Entertainment Expo and have him shopping around for more talent.  Eli is by far the best, funniest character in the film so it makes sense this this faux documentary piece is the best of the extras. 

The Girl Next Door is not a bad film, so if you are a fan of the teen sex film give it a rent.  If you already own the DVD, there is no reason to upgrade, and if you want to buy the film stick with the DVD.  It’s cheaper and you’ll get pretty much the same image quality.  I hope this is not how Fox plans to treat all the films they port over to Blu-Ray.

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