The Movie: The Girl Next Door, directed by Luke Greenfield
Recommendation: Broomie.
Reason: "It's actually not as bad as you think it is."
Okay. So it's not actually as bad as I thought it was. I didn't see it based on how vehement Roger Ebert's review of it was when it was first released. I can't say I necessarily agree with him on all of his points, but there were definitely moments of discomfort for me. I'm no innocent naif-I've done some research on the porn industry after reading some Gloria Steinem awhile back. I'm not opposed to pornography, but I'm sure as hell opposed to how some studios run their business.
Recalling the story of Traci Lords to an uncomfortable degree, Albertan Elisha Cuthbert is alternately sweet and sour as the script demands. When she's Danielle the normal girl, she's watchably adorable. When she's Athena the pornstar...the whole movie seems to go horribly wrong. Parts that are supposed to be funny fall flat at the absolute awfulness of her previous life. It's really, really hard to convince yourself that she was one of Vivid or Candide Royale's girls, or any reputable studio's, when she's being manhandled and herded around by the deplorable Kelly.
The pacing was a little uneven, there were some funny moments, but it was a difficult movie to watch. When it was a teen sex comedy, it was fun. When it was a teen sex comedy trying to poke fun at the seedy underbelly of the already seedy porn industry...it was ugly. Real ugly.
-97/365 down, 268/365 to go
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment