good point, but there hasn't been one like this in sometime and who knows if there will be again, so to don the crown for awhile is legit i think. no?

I got this as a blind buy. Probably the best one I have ever made.

I think they should have released it in February like they intended and not tried to make it a springtime release. Hell, with the marketing campaign, not much could have saved it.


John Hughes movie of our generation? I wouldn't go that far.

good movie, but just stops short of being very good

This movie was definitely the Risky Business of 2004. It has some shades of Hughes pics, but it's Risky Business that this movie most copies and homages... Great film by the way.

MATT

Good lord, where's Chmiel and his "best picture of the year" megaphone?

And you can stop the "marketing" excuse for its low box office returns right now. It was marketed EXACTLY like the film that ended up on the screen.

Here's a better reason why the film didn't do well: get this, some people actually didn't like the film. Gasp! I would even venture to say most who saw it.

I know, hard to deal with. But very, VERY true.

Do you know the history of this films theater run? Regardless of those who like or disliked the film there is a perfectly good reason why it didn't appeal to many folks.

Here are some of the facts:

It had a LOT of positive test screenings and a lot of advanced screenings that went really well months to a few weeks before it was suppose to be released.

It then got bumped to develope a bigger marketing campaign so they could figure out which demographics they really want to hit hard with ads. They were marketing an R rated film to teens... who couldn't see this without parent.

By the time it did come out months later people already were bombarded with the original marketing campaign and believed this film was already old.


Now did people not like it? Sure, any movie gets some good and some bad reaction. The freshness rating was a decent 58% meaning it went down the line. Is it hard to deal with people not liking the film? I'm being realistic here looking at both sides of the coin while you are there with the shades of hate for the film. I can't expect you to ever even bother giving the other side a chance to explain in a logical sense why the film didnt succeed with the steps the studio took to make it succeed.

Is the unrated worth watching?

If you've seen the rated version already and feel no need to see the film again then it's not all that worth it. If you haven't seen the film at all I would just say pick up the unrated version. main difference is some back ground nudity.

I never saw the rated version, so I really can't say. IMO, just get the unrated and see it in all its glory. I think the differences are most likely negligible in terms of how it affects the story.

thanks guys

1) "Facts?" Um, sure... Ok. I’ll bite.

Yes, it did screen early. Yes, the release date changed. Those are facts. Industry screenings might’ve went well (do you have the numbers?), but the public screenings I attended did not. Not the rule, just my observation.

2) Here's where I disagree and our perspective diverges. I'm of the school of thought that GIRL was bumped because of a little film about Jesus that opened around the same time. Some other films pulled the same move. The company line is "needed to rearrange marketing," but that smells fishy. Once the Jesus movie opened, plus some Janet Jackson thing happening in January, the climate for ribald material cooled. Ask EUROTRIP if you need help on this. Plus those screening I attended did not suggest there was a lovefest for the film happening.

I respectfully disagree with you on this one.

3) Again, studio spin. It seems silly to believe that crowds stayed away from the film in droves because they "believed this film was already old." Huh? The demo this film was marketed to knew exactly when this film was released. All others didn't care to begin with. I know nobody likes to hear this, but it’s the truth. Or a “fact.”

4) Ya know, the all-powerful tomatoes do not really explain audience reaction, do they? That would be second and third weekend box office. Or better yet, sitting in a theater and watching the film with a crowd for three times and each time hearing a titter or two of laughter, but mostly the bored rustling of seats moving. Not good.

As for being "realistic" and "shades of hate", Jack, get over yourself. Don't play holier-than-thou with me just because I care to suggest the film didn't play because it didn't work or the crowds didn’t care about it. It isn't the worst film of the year, by any means (look to LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA for that honor), but a controversial film with me because the message boards praise the film ceaselessly, but the mouthbreathers didn’t seem as taken. Where’s my crime? Outside of a possible threadcrap (I don’t believe I’ve gone that far), and if that offends anybody, I honestly apologize.

“logic.”

Classy.

I'm being logical as well. You just don't like it because I look at the film in a negative light, something you have been just as guilty of recently with other films. Save the innocent act for another thread.

Just consider me the other side of the coin and move on.

1. The industry screenings, according to a few of the people I know, went extremely well. And to the two public screenings I attended prior to the film's theatrical release all went over extremely well. Now not as positive as say Napoleon Dynamite's, but they were positive nevertheless.

2. If The Girl Next Door was bumped due to The Passion, why didn't FOX show the same respect for Broken Lizard's Club Dread? The same film which came out head-to-head with Mel Gibson's little flick about Jesus. And we all know who won that battle.

3. I knew a lot of people that believed the film already came out when the film was finally released. Sadly, people aren't like us Scott. They don't keep on top of theatrical release dates. They see some movie advertise on TV and they believe it has already come out or that it comes out in a few days. The Girl Next Door was getting heavily promoted before it's intial March 12th release date. But before March, the film's advertising stopped and didn't start up again until the last week of March. Then again, I knew a lot of people who stayed away from the film because they thought it was just another "stupid teen comedy."

4. Yeah, Rotten Tomatoes just covers the "critics" reactions. And do the audiences really listen to the critics? No. And back to my comments, the advanced screenings I attended had tons of laughter.

Scott, I know you and I don't see eye to eye with anything, but at least you're stating your opinion for the film and I'm fine with that. And at least we both agree that The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra was the worst film released theatrically this year.

I work at that certain little News Corporation. Now you may think that I would be kissing ass to every FOX release out there because they sign my check but I'm a bigger critic of them then you or anyone else will ever be. I don't have the exact figures or the break down on the reaction of the demographics but I do know that it tested really well and the many advance screenings did an over all positive reaction. You may not have enjoyed it.. But others sure did.

Believe it or not. But the heavy advertisement placed for the original release date really made folks think it was coming out. then when it stopped and started again at the end of the month they assumed that the movie was already out. Like matthew said. They aren't us who pay attention to what the theater release dates are. They just listen to the commercials and if they see ads for it they think it's coming out. Then they see ads stop and start up again a month later they remember they saw the ads a while ago and just assume it's already come and past. Doesn't take much common sense to figure that one out or believe in that fact.


Well you sure are proving that one by not being able to hear the truth given all the facts. Either that or just not caring and enjoying to troll. And as for facts, you sure as hell aren't listening to them as I am presenting you with the facts. Look at the thread. Is there such hate for the film as you are presenting? No. everyone generally enjoyed it. I think the proof is right there.

Tomatoes just represents critics.. yes, but as I can not go to everyones house that saw it in a theater and get a estimate on who liked it or not I used it as a way to present the facts that the critics take on this film were pretty much split. More facts you for some reason do not want to even bother accepting.

Ok, you do know what Counter Programing is right? Say NFL is on ABC on monday night football. What does ESPN show? something totally opposite of football. Something to attract the female crowd. Or an alternative to football right? Passions of the christ might have been on fire but if THE GIRL NEXT DOOR was actually placed there then it would have been going counter to it. The audiance for PASSIONS is not the same group that will be or ever be targeted as the same as GND. They are two different demographics.


as for the films popularity. I said it then and I will stand by my comment. This film will make a shit load of money in dvd sales. Why? because those same kids who couldn't buy a ticket to it because of the R rating will be happy to buy it without any ID checking at their local best buy. I will stand by that comment and then we will see if you are indeed correct in saying that people didn't watch it in theaters simply because it wasn't that good. High and mighty? holier-than-thou attitude?

I simply speak the truth from what I know as fact from the inside out.

Oh my.. the horror.. the horror. People are discovering it on dvd now so why are you so surprised that their is praise. Lets count how many negative reactions there is in this thread... seems like yours is the only major one while we have a lot of praise from folks who saw it blindly. Now am I going the distance and saying it's the John Hughes picture of our time.. No. that's a lot more then it is. It was a good film and I enjoyed it enough to buy it on my employee discount. But it's not the best thing since sliced bread... but it isn't all that bad as you claim it is and it was enjoyed.. and give me some dvd sales numbers and that will show that this film is going to be/is a big success on DVD. And that will be a fact we will have the numbers on.

I picked this up for reasons I don't quite understand, seeing as I can't stand Cuthbert on 24 and thought the ads for this movie were horrible. However, I am very glad that I got the dvd, because I really liked it and thought Cuthbert was really great in it. The movie was funny, touching, and much more than it was made out to be. I totally agree with those that think that this movie is going to become a cult favorite now that it is on DVD.

Well, I didn't see this at the theaters because it just costs too much, and I can't trust any of the ones in my area to do film right (plus all the recent films I've seen had those annoying anti-piracy dots on them). I bought the DVD for less than it would have cost to go see it twice, and enjoyed it a lot more than I would have if I'd gone to the theater and gotten a scratched print run by incompetent booth personnel, or rude audiences ruining the movie.

In the movie, Elisha Cuthbird gets the guy to play hooky for the first time and they jump into a car. What is the song playing in the background? I really like that song alot. it was a mild hit a few yrs ago and i never got the name and artist.

Song by Filter title: TaKe My Picture

lol, her name is elisha cuthbert

it's off their 2nd cd, if i remember correctly.

He must have had the wrong Sesame Street character on his mind when he wrote that.

Sung Hi Lee and the other pornstar in the movie make it worth watching in my humble opinion

Great blind buy in my opinion.

I thought that was the funniest part too.

Even without Elisha getting nude I thought this was an awesome movie. It was definitely entertaining, and Elisha is just smoking.

I too find Ms. Cuthbert smoking hot. I hope she is able to break out of the ditzy image of Kim and get a part in a movie that people will actually want to see. She really has talent.

Anyone want to wager how many years that will last?

I enjoyed the film. It was in the same vein as a lot of those coming of age comedies in the 80's. I wouldn't buy it, but I'd watch it if it were on.

Oh, and fantastic soundtrack. Bowie/Queen, Elliott Smith, Echo And The Bunnymen, etc.