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Movie Review: “The Boy Next Door” is a Foolishly Redundant Tale

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : January 23, 2015
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Category: Movie Reviews

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Men beware; just a taste of JLo can lead to an unhealthy addiction!

Claire Peterson (Jennifer Lopez) is a high school teacher in the middle of a separation from her cheating husband (John Corbett).  Amidst the stress and drama, she has only been able to focus on her work and her son, Kevin (Ian Nelson).  She hasn’t been on a date in years.  Somehow, this always made-up beauty hasn’t even felt wanted by a man since the split.  She is lonely and vulnerable.  (Yeah, right…)  Here comes the new hot, young, and extremely fit neighbor.  Noah Sandborn (Ryan Guzman) seems harmless.  He’s a sweet kid taking care of his elderly uncle, and now he’s even befriended Claire’s awkward, wheezing son.  After going on a horrible double date with her friend/vice principal of her school, Vicky (Kristin Chenoweth), she receives a phone call from Noah who is need of her assistance.  The evening escalates from inappropriate to disgustingly wrong within seconds.  Claire wakes up immediately regretting the whole thing, but it’s too late.  A night of “passion” with “Jenny from the block” has caused Noah to catch a fever that he just can’t shake.

The Boy Next Door is a story we’ve seen before, multiple times.  In fact, you could probably figure out the entire film, without ever watching it.  Writer Barbara Curry offers no originality to this script, unless you count the record breaking amount of cheese in the dialogue.  Director Rob Cohen (Fast and Furious, The Skulls) does serve a few moments of excitement movie-goers can look forward to, particularly the end sequence.

January is known to be the worst month for films, and The Boy Next Door is no exception to that rule.  However, it is a film that audience members could possibly, still, enjoy.  I went in with the mindset of knowing this movie would be ridiculous and just had fun with it.  The acting is embarrassing, and the storyline doesn’t always make sense. Yet, there is plenty to laugh about.  Take for example, how Jennifer Lopez never looks bad.  It doesn’t matter if she’s fighting for her life in a burning barn, or if she’s about to go to bed; her lip gloss is always intact.

Sadly, The Boy Next Door does not provide the same entertainment value as other popular teen /stalker flicks like Fear or SwimFan.  But, if you’ve already seen all of the Oscar nominated films, and you’re looking for a thoughtless, outlandish comedy, The Boy Next Door maybe worth the watch!

Rating: 2/5

The Boy Next Door opens in theaters today.

Movie Review: “Besties” is a Friendship I’m Glad to be Done With

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : January 22, 2014
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Category: Movie Reviews

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For many of us, films about the overly obsessive best friend who eventually goes on to have a psychotic rampage tend to be an enjoyable guilty pleasure.  However, director/writer Rebecca Cutter fails to give an equally entertaining script with her latest project.

Besties tells the story of Sandy (Olivia Crocicchia), a dorky underclassman who idolizes the babysitter that has lived next door to her for years.  Ashley (Madison Riley) is a gorgeous, fun, and popular senior.   She is also manipulative bitch.  On the night that her dad goes out of town for work, Sandy excitedly asks Ashley to baby-sit her.  Ashley takes advantage of this opportunity to throw a party in which a destructive ex makes an unexpected visit.  When things get out of hand, the night ends with deadly results.  To make sure she never reveals the secrets of that night, Ashley entices Sandy with a “friendship” she wouldn’t dare want to risk losing.

The premise sounds interesting enough.  I even appreciate the slight originality of role reversal with who is actually good and bad in this film.  Movies like Single White Female and The Roomate focus on the pretty and sweet girl who has unknowingly become a victim to the crazy, obsessive new friend.  Sandy is very much the victim in Besties.  The problem with this film, in comparison to its predecessors, is the tamed and boring actions that follow after the two girls become best friends.  Yes, Ashley is mean but there really isn’t a boiling point for Sandy that makes the audience: one- want to sympathize for her, and two- really want her to overcome Ashley.

Maybe if there were more talented actors, the movie could have been a bit thrilling.  Crocicchia was tolerable, but her attempt to act drunk was almost as embarrassing as watching Bobby Soto try to play a convincing love interest for her character.  A couple shots of vodka for Crocicchia, and a few acting lessons for Soto could have made for a better film.  Thank goodness for Riley’s performance as the conniving antagonist.  She is truly the only reason I was able to keep watching this movie.  Although, if Ashley’s mom (Jackie Debatin) and Sandy ’s dad (Corin Nemec) would have played a bigger part, I think we could have had an interesting side story.

Besties is a low-budget drama/thriller that starts out with so much potential, but falls incredibly flat.

Watch Besties on demand at phase4films.com

 Besties Trailer HD

Originally posted on RedCarpetCrash.com