Suzanne Hanover/Universal PicturesJennifer Lopez is making her debut again on the big screen in more than two years in her new thriller The Boy Next Door, but critics say that you might want to actually get to know the boy next door (if you have one) rather than go and meet Ryan Guzman, the "boy" in question.
The thriller stars J.Lo as a 40-something woman dealing with her strained marriage by seeking solace in a one-night-stand that turns into one massive mistake. Although some critics say the silver lining is that Hollywood is finally making a movie about a middle-aged woman in an era when female actresses claim to be fighting tooth and nail for these types of roles, other critics agree that Jenny from the Block deserves more than this predictable thriller.
Time magazine's Daniel D'Addario named The Boy Next Door the bad movie Hollywood needs right now because of its leading lady, but says that "it looks cheaply made and has a plot hinging on provocation and contrivance far more than good sense or good taste." D'Addario is the most vocal when it comes to lauding Lopez's role in the movie but is also the first to say that the movie isn't "meant to be good."
"The Boy Next Door‘s depiction of a woman who's capable of making mistakes without allowing them to define her is orders of magnitude more sophisticated than viewers should expect," he writes.
But The Hollywood Reporter wasn't as forgiving as Time. The Hollywood trade publication's "bottom line" of the film reads, "As torrid affairs gone wrong go, this one's not juicy enough and way too predictable." As January movie releases go, the mag agrees that Lopez's newest work will offer moviegoers "some guilty-pleasure thrills and laughs" but still falls "way short of its potential on both the dramatic and the camp fronts."
Andrew Barker of Variety agrees with all of the "typical January" reviews, noting "January releases don't get much more January than this, but given its reported $4 million budget, The Boy Next Door shouldn't have too much trouble finding its way into the black." He does, however, note that Barbara Curry's first-time script allows Guzman (of Pretty Little Liars and Step Up fame) to become "adrift" in a "pivotal role."
"It doesn't help that his attempts at smirking, unhinged malevolence are more Ace Ventura than Norman Bates...but he has precious little to go on," he writes.
The New York Daily News' Joe Neumaier finds the 90-minute film to be just as disappointing as the rest, but can't help but notice that the camera loves Lopez despite the poor content.
"Over more than 20 years of movies, Lopez's style, in good movies and bad, has been beguiling and unhurried," he writes.
"She lets the movie find her. It may be counterintuitive given her bigger-than-life off-screen image, but in movies, she knows the subtle way to dance."
Although The Boy Next Door might not offer up Oscar-worthy material, it might just be worth seeing for some much needed fun in a gloomy January.
Will you go see it? Sound off in the comments below!