Misdirection

One could infer from the title on this, Tuesday November 2nd, that a political article is about to ensue. Tonight is a major election here in America. I voted for my guy this morning. Some voted for my guy; others voted against. I hear it's close. Hopefully it won't be as close as it was four years ago. At this point there's not much I can do about it either way. So after a long day at the office, an hour at the gym, and dinner, I popped in The Girl Next Door.

Back when trailers first started airing on television, it was pretty clear to me what this would be. Elisha Cuthbert, sexy co-star of 24 was shedding her image as Jack Bauer's danger-prone teenage daughter to play a teenage porn star in a sex fantasy a la American Pie. It was at a Science Fiction convention of all places that I caught an extended trailer which painted the film in a very different light. Certainly there was the adolescent fantasy element, teenage boys gawking at scantily clad pornstars, the air ripe with innuendo. But there was something else there, elements of an actual plot and romance, and one key scene of the boy not taking advantage of his “good fortune” but telling the girl, “you're better than this.” I reassessed my opinion of the movie and wondered if the marketing I had previously seen was misleading.

I remember simpler times when the blonde beauty next door was destined to be my wife. I was only five and she two-and-a-half when we got engaged, so we had some time. There was some misdirection on her part however when she said we would only be friends when no one else was around, but she had to make fun of me in the company of others, particularly my other friend's sister. The way things are portrayed often conceal what lies beneath. As I began watching this movie, the early extreme close-ups of what SEEMS to be a pornographic film shoot are revealed in fact to be a session shooting high school year book photos. Director Luke Greenfield proceeded to keep me guessing throughout the movie, and although I became adept at spotting some of the misdirections it was extremely entertaining to watch some of the characters who didn't know what was in store for them. The odd dream sequence here and there also helped to keep me on my toes.

Ultimately it plays like a modern John Hughes movie. Emile Hirsch's protagonist is someone I rooted for and identified with. The portrayal of an outsider and his friends amid a sea of jocks and beer-guzzling party animals was starkly accurate. I found myself cringing during one scene where Hirsch's Matt is addressing the student body about a genius he's raised money to bring in from Cambodia. Matt is serious about his causes and ambitious, but the gymnasium of students mocking the exchange student with the funny accent is heartbreaking. He sees someone who might grow up and cure cancer; they don't see beyond the surface. Matt's ability to find solutions, occasionally unconventional, and break through the surface to a person's core is what makes his relationship with Cuthbert plausible. When Timothy Olyphant's villainous Kelly enters the picture, he's an avalanche of misdirection behind a charming smile. Based on trailers, I had no idea how much I would loathe this character.

This is hardly a family film and there's enough nudity and graphic language to keep the kids at bay. But there's a substance to the film, a grounding in our collective school experience that transcends both the marketing campaign, and the obligatory “unrated version” plastered across the DVD cover. “Unrated” has become one of the most overused selling tools I've seen of late. Misdirection is everywhere, so it's important to hone a discerning eye.

I hope everyone voted smart.