The Girl Next Door is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Luke Greenfield. It follows a high school senior who falls in love for the first time with the girl next door, but finds the situation becoming complicated after he learns that she is a former pornographic actress. It stars Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, James Remar, Chris Marquette, and Paul Dano. The film received mixed reviews and low theatrical attendance at the time,[1] but over time has gained cult film status.[1][6][7][8]
Ambitious high school senior Matthew Kidman has been accepted to Georgetown University but cannot afford the tuition. As class president, he has raised $25,000 in order to bring a brilliant Cambodian student, Samnang, to study in the United States, but otherwise has found little else memorable about his high school experience. His friends, perverted film student Eli, and shy and awkward Klitz, rebuff his displeasure with their lack of risky behavior. His life suddenly changes when a young woman, Danielle, moves in next door. When Matthew witnesses her undressing, she sees him and storms over. Introducing herself to his parents, they suggest to Matthew that he show Danielle around town. During the car ride, Danielle coerces him into taking his clothes off and forces him to run naked down the street.
The next morning, Eli calls Matthew, informing him that the tape has been stolen. Matthew enters his house to find Kelly in possession of the tape and talking with his parents and principal. Kelly demands Matthew's half of the eventual profits. When Matthew refuses, Kelly plays the tape for the group, who are surprised to find that Matthew and his friends have made a modern sexual education film.
The Girls Next Door (also known as The Girls of the Playboy Mansion) is a reality television series which focuses on the lives of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends who live with him at the Playboy Mansion. The series was created by executive producer Kevin Burns and Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine. The series premiered on the E! cable network on August 7, 2005 and ran for 6 seasons. The first five seasons centered around then-girlfriends, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. The sixth and final season premiered on October 11, 2009 and introduced Hefner's new girlfriends, Crystal Harris, who eventually went on to marry Hefner, and twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon.
The series focuses on the lives of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends who live with him at the infamous Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Hefner was often on the show along with various Playmates and other celebrities. The series not only showcases events at the mansion (e.g. Fight Night, Fourth of July celebration, the midsummer celebration), but also sheds light on other Playboy related events such as the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, Playmate test shoots at Playboy Studio West, Operation Playmate, birthday parties, and more significantly, the personalities and real lives of each of his girlfriends.
Kevin Burns approached Hefner in early 2005, which resulted in a pilot called "Hef's World" being filmed. This followed "Hef, his girlfriends, and friends contrasted with the staff". When presented to E!, they told him to go back and interview each of the girlfriends to "see what you can get", which resulted in the premise shifting from Hefner to life in the mansion from a female's perspective.[1]
This is not meant to be a formal definition of the girl next door like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of the girl next door that will help our users expand their word mastery.
The movie starts out kind of like a Stephen King movie. Reminded me a lot of Stand by Me tonally. It's lighthearted, treading into the somewhat darker aspects of life. You have these kids drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, and peeping through girls bedroom windows.
The girl (I'll call her Sylvia even though that's not her name in the movie) complains about her aunt bullying her and being really hard on her. Then it keeps escalating until she has these boys desensitized to beating, and even raping Sylvia. She's kind of the "cool" adult at first for swearing around them, letting them drink and smoke and whatever, so it's totally believable that they just follow her in this brutal torture.
The Girl Next Door is a Stock Character (and frequently a potential Love Interest for the male protagonist) who is open, approachable, and unassuming: the girl he thinks of as his best friend, his childhood pal, even just One of the Boys.
She'll usually embody a "wholesome" sort of femininity and she's rarely the promiscuous sort, though she might play the foil to a woman who is. Since her characterization is built on her accessible, down-to-earth personality, she's often cute but never to the point that her looks are her defining feature: she might be the prettiest girl at church, or the coffee shop's best-tipped waitress, but she'll be never surrounded by guys eager to do Favors for the Sexy. And if she does attract attention with her appearance, she's more likely to be annoyed or embarrassed than flattered.
The Spear Counterpart, the Boy Next Door, is the same archetype and usually serves in the same romantic role(s). Often overlaps with One of the Boys. Contrast with Head-Turning Beauty and Peerless Love Interest. Also compare The All-American Boy, who might well be her High School Sweetheart. When the Girl Next Door actually lives next door, then that's Literally Loving Thy Neighbor.
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