Film review: The Boy Next Door
Why does Jennifer Lopez make such bad creative choices? She's not a bad actress and definitely has enough marquee value to be choosy. So why Lopez decided to star in — as well as co-produce — this lame would-be psychological thriller is part of the continuing mystery.
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman
Director: Rob Cohen
Category: IIB
Why does Jennifer Lopez make such bad creative choices? She's not a bad actress and definitely has enough marquee value to be choosy. So why Lopez decided to star in — as well as co-produce — this lame would-be psychological thriller is part of the continuing mystery.
In , Lopez plays Claire Peterson, a suburban American teacher who has a one-night stand with her son's hunky school friend Noah (Ryan Guzman, pictured above with Lopez). Instantly regretting the tryst, she tells him she wants to forget it, and is shocked to find out that he sees it as a step towards a lasting relationship.
To complicate matters, Noah lives next door and attends the school Claire teaches at. When he starts to manipulate her son, Claire realises Noah is obsessed with her. What's more, the boy starts to display violent, psychopathic tendencies.
But instead of thrills, the only emotion that the slapdash will engender is irritation. Most thrillers require some kind of suspension of disbelief, but this film is simply not credible. Major events in the storyline are completely ignored by all the characters.
When Noah nearly kills a fellow student in a school brawl and is consequently expelled, why doesn't Claire notice? When she's cornered by Noah, a martial arts genius, in the school toilets, how does she manage to floor him with a quick kick to the nuts? And why doesn't she get a restraining order placed on him?
