Junk food is undeniably delicious. “The Boy Next Door” is a cinematic candy bar — an exciting dive off a diet of “healthier” films. It could have been an artful tale of adultery à la “Unfaithful” or “Notes on a Scandal.” But director Rob Cohen (“The Fast and the Furious”) dodges the moral questions that the scandalous story raises and delivers pure popcorn fun.
Jennifer Lopez stars as Claire, a high school teacher who seems to cast a love spell on her students. “They call her 'the crusher,' ” her teenage son (Ian Nelson) says. Oddly enough, the film doesn’t show her making this impact in the classroom. We only see her bewitching the boy next door.
The “boy,” Noah (27-year-old Ryan Guzman, laughably posing as a high school senior), isn’t exactly desperate for attention from the ladies. His first appearance is a shot of his rippling bicep lifting Claire's garage door. Chiseled like one of the Greek gods discussed in Claire’s literature class, Noah has a way of turning heads.
Lonely and upset about problems with her husband (John Corbett), Claire sneaks over to Noah’s house one rainy night — perhaps to feel wanted again amid anger about her husband’s affair. She ends up having a one-night stand with Noah.
The film might have been more interesting if it depicted Claire and Noah as equals — people defined by their sex appeal, struggling to suppress the urge to act upon it in an environment that demands they don’t. But Claire quickly denies the notion that she has sexual power. We never see its effect in her school, and her line-crossing with a student is depicted as a random occurrence rather than an inevitability. And Noah is a mere midnight-movie monster rather than an impressionable young man wading through the gray waters of right and wrong.
This movie isn’t about moral ambiguity. It’s a tale of good versus evil that's also steeped in sleaze. Noah grows violently obsessed with Claire and essentially turns into a slasher film bogeyman. Like the fiendishly funny Freddy Krueger, Guzman’s tongue pokes through his cheek when delivering lines like “I love your mother’s cookies” with a sinister edge.
Spoiler Alert: You may find yourself humming with a B-movie buzz as Claire finds her classroom flooded with pictures of her tawdry tryst with Noah or when she stabs him in the eye with an EpiPen.
Cohen isn't exactly a visionary director, but he can certainly deliver enjoyably schlocky spectacles. And Lopez's exuberance in the midst of them may rub off on you. She's no Sarah Connor. Claire could have unleashed a little more feminine fury to match the film's feverish energy, but Lopez makes you root for her nonetheless.
She has starred in richer, more interesting films, but there's no doubt Lopez is having fun in this one. It's far from a movie you should rush out and see, but if you do, you'll have a good time. This film is the definition of "so bad it's good." It boasts a lot of laughs, intentional and otherwise.
“The Boy Next Door” is a fun ride that evokes a certain forbidden thrill — the kind of feeling you get when you sneak out late at night or spoil your dinner with junk food. It gives you a high that feels good for a while but then compels you to find healthier things to consume. Sometimes we need a little trash to appreciate treasure.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgbBwovOOoc&w=560&h=315]