“The Boy Next Door” is this year’s newest psychological thriller starring Jennifer Lopez (Claire) and Ryan Guzman (Noah.) It tells the story of a newly divorced high school teacher that engages in one night of risky behavior with her new next door neighbor, who she later discovers is a high school student.
After Claire tries to dismiss the student’s advances he becomes obsessed with her and consequently, she begins to live in terror, terrified of losing her job and peace of mind.
“Entertainment Weekly’s” box office reports “The Boy Next Door” is predicted to make $15 million in its first week making it No. 2 on the best new release list.
According to “Vanity Fair,” “The Boy Next Door” is one silly, psycho thriller you should not miss, and the magazine goes as far as listing 20 reasons why.
“The movie isn’t afraid of a little shock value, giving us one or two moments of startling gross-out violence and the aforementioned boob grabbing. Good for them,” Vanity Fair posted.
“The Boy Next Door,” produced by Lopez and directed by Rob Cohen, seems to resonate with fans and other celebrities as well. After seeing the film, singer Brittney Spears tweeted at Jennifer Lopez, thanking her for motivating her to get back out there.
“It’s easy for us moms to feel dull and invisible at times, but this put some pep in my step. Thank you, Jennifer, for being you,” Spears tweeted.
Even though the majority seemed to love this new film, there were a select few who rated this film as adequate at best. ABC News reported “The Boy Next Door” was predictable and poorly portrayed.
“The Boy Next Door” comes off more as an inadvertent comedy than the thriller it’s supposed to be,” ABC reported.
Metacritic.com allows film critics to rate the newest releases. From all the ratings, a metascore is derived.
“The Boy Next Door” earned a metascore of 31 with only two positive ratings out of 29 overall ratings.
Critic James Berardinelli from Reel View rated the film negatively.
“It’s badly directed, poorly edited and features some of the most unconvincing acting,” Berardinelli said.
Although predictions state “The Boy Next Door” will be a flop, the box office numbers tell a different story. Topping its budget, “The Boy Next Door” made $5.7 million on the first night of its release.
On Mississippi State University’s campus “The Boy Next Door” has proven to be unpopular amongst the student body. One out of ten students that were asked about the film showed interest in spending money to see it in theaters. Be it positive or negative, the obvious mixed reviews about “The Boy Next Door” and revenue generated proves that if the film is worth talking about, it must be worth seeing.
