There
have
been
over
a
dozen
films
on
cougar
relationships,
but
the
most
done
to
death
is
the
teacher-student
romance.
"The
Boy
Next
Door" is
another
one
in
the
list.
The
film
features
Jennifer
Lopez
as
Mrs.
Claire
Peterson,
a
literature
teacher
at
a
local
high
school.
She
lives
with
her
teenage
son
Kevin
(Ian
Nelson)
and
has
been
having
marital
problems
of
late.
She
is
in
a
dilemma
about
divorcing
her
philandering
husband
Garrett
(John
Corbett).
While
she
is
coping
with
her
dysfunctional
marriage,
her
son
Kevin
befriends
Noah
(Ryan
Guzman),
"the
boy
next
door" who
has
recently
moved
in.
Noah,
after
losing
his
parents
in
an
accident,
has
moved
in
the
neighbourhood
to
take
care
of
his
ailing
grand
uncle
(Jack
Wallace).
Claire
appreciates
Noah's
genial
and
ever
obliging,
helpful
attitude
towards
her
son
and
herself.
She
is
further
floored
by
his
interest
in
classic
literature
and
sparks
fly
when
they
notice
each
other
spying.
Then
one
weekend
when
Kevin
goes
out
for
an
outing
with
his
father,
on
the
pretext
of
asking
for
assistance
in
salvaging
a
half-thawed
chicken
cooking,
Noah
invites
Claire
to
his
kitchen.
Then
amidst
half-hearted
protests
and
full-on
cajoling,
the
inevitable
happens.
The
narration
takes
a
twist
after
Claire
reveals
to
Noah
that
she
made
a
mistake.
She
tries
avoiding
him.
And
you
realise
that
there
is
more
to
just
the
romance
bit.
When
Kevin
offers
Noah
some
cookies
and
Noah
responds
making
a
dig,
"I
love
your
mother's
cookies",
His
dubious
intentions
are
clear.
Gradually,
Noah's
obsessions
build
up
leading
the
narration
into
a
different
genre.
The
problem
with
"The
Boy
Next
Door"
is
that
it
lacks
the
passion
of
a
romance
film
and
the
intensity
of
a
psychological
thriller.
Nevertheless,
director
Rob
Cohen
keeps
the
film
afloat
with
these
genre
tropes.
Due
to
lack
of
novelty
in
the
characterisation,
the
script
written
by
Attorney
turned
script
writer
Barbara
Curry
seems
laidback.
The
plot
being
formulaic
focusses
on
the
plot
graph
rather
than
establishing
the
characters
and
their
motivation,
thus
making
the
characters
seem
generically
crafted
and
flimsy.
On
the
performances
front,
the
sultry
Jennifer
Lopez,
still
has
the
oomph
factor.
She
plays
the
"smart
people
do
dumb
things,
I
made
a
mistake"
act
with
the
apt
trepidation.
On
the
other
hand,
Ruz
Guzman
with
his
well-chiselled
physique,
seems
too
grown-up
to
play
a
20
year
old.
He
is
a
misfit
in
the
role,
but
he
executes
the
emotions
of
the
charismatic
as
well
as
sinister
Noah
with
precision.
Ian
Nelson
as
Kevin
is
charming.
Kristin
Chenoweth
as
Vicky,
Claire's
colleague
and
confidante
along
with
John
Corbett
as
Garrett,
are
functional
as
they
play
second
fiddle
to
the
narration.
Given
the
low
budget,
the
production
values
of
the
film
are
good.
Mildly
entertaining,
the
film
is
worth
a
one-time
watch.