If anything can bring back the era of “Fatal Attraction” and “Basic Instinct,” surely it’s Jennifer Lopez getting menaced after a one-night fling with the psychotic teenage boy next door. Seduced by the lad’s washboard abs and won over by his prowess as a handyman, J-Lo trots through the woman-in-peril routine in a movie that could be a much-needed comeback vehicle.
“The Boy Next Door” is so basic it’s almost a blueprint. Lopez plays a high-school teacher, currently separated from her philandering husband (John Corbett). She is impressed by the neighbor boy (Ryan Guzman) when he fixes her garage door (sorry, but everything sounds like a double entendre in this situation).
One night she wanders over to his house because the young man needs help roasting his chicken (again, not being metaphorical here, he just really wants to eat dinner) and one thing leads to another, and she spends the night.
After this mistake, Guzman gets obsessive, and his friendship with Lopez’s teenage son (Ian Nelson) takes on sinister overtones. Worse, he transfers into her class, which makes things super awkward. He’s of legal age — ”almost twenty” — as the film is at pains to remind us.
The whole movie plays it safe like that. Lopez’s character immediately regrets the sex. Barbara Curry’s script can’t even allow her to enjoy her brief fling.
It’s full-frontal fatal attraction from then on. Give some credit to veteran director Rob Cohen, who did the first “Fast and Furious” picture. He can’t cover up the clanking dialogue, but he shoves the story right along, and at least he has some enthusiasm for the R-rated softcore scenes. That’s more than you can say for directors with more discretion.
Better yet, Cohen uncorks four or five yell-out-loud surprises. I saw the movie with a preview audience that screamed even at the cheesy shocks.
It all builds to a brutal climax. Jennifer Lopez carries off this craziness with her usual pluck, and is equally adept at projecting suburban hotness and lethal revenge skills — is it really possible she turns 45 this year?
Having said that, the movie seems to punish her not only for the fling but for hesitating to re-form her family unit with her unfaithful husband. Harsh. Why can’t the movies, once in a while, let Jennifer Lopez get away with it?
“The Boy Next Door” (2 stars)
Jennifer Lopez is a suburban teacher who regrets her one-night fling with a younger neighbor (Ryan Guzman); he turns out to be psychotically obsessive. Lopez brings her usual pluck to this craziness, and although the movie is cheesy it’s got a handful of yell-out-loud shocks.
Rating: R, for nudity, violence
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
