As I settled down to watch The Girl Next Door, I was expecting a raucous comedy along the lines of American Pie, Road Trip and Old School. Although it transpired my expectations were misplaced, I was not disappointed with the film that followed the credits. The Girl Next door was consistently funny throughout, although at no times did it have me creased in the middle of the floor. That is not necessarily a bad thing though, because I remained smiling from start to finish, and a lot of the humour was far more subtle than other recent films in the same class.

Character wise the film fails to shed light over any new ground, with perhaps the slightest exception for Olyphant's porn producer, Kelly. As a character Kelly is off the wall, back and forth and sideways from menace to suave to insanely humorous. Olyphant plays him with a seemingly seamless transition from mood to swagger. Cuthbert's Danielle is a cute wee character, although I couldn't really buy her as a porn star. She seemed to clean and to sure of herself to be sucked into, and more importantly back into, that industry. She is however a wonderfully fun loving and adorable character, even if when adding up her parts she doesn't come across as a whole character. Mathew was played with a clever uncertainty about him. He was peppered with self doubt and "what if" scenarios instead of just being your usual clumsy geek character. Not having to remove glasses to become cool was an added bonus. I have one concern with his character though. He is, presumably, a virgin at the beginning of the film, and yet doesn't seem daunted by the fact his new woman spent her time being paid to have sex with men who are hung almost as well as me. Personally, I wouldn't have been nervous either, but I know the likes of Fat Tony would be scared it would be like throwing a sausage down the main street (he's hung like an acorn) even though he's been with a few women. I am reliably informed some of them have even been conscious at the time.

Overall The Girl Next Door is a good, reliable film. Not exceptionally gut busting, but not disappointing either. For a good night in you could go worse than The Girl Next Door and a glass of my favourite drink, Babycham.