Search - The Neighbor on DVD

Sharon F. (Shar) from AVON PARK, FL
Reviewed on 1/7/2020...

Cute love story between two people who initially hated each other.

Refreshing quirky romantic comedy!

Sante E Volve | honolulu | 12/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Neighbor (2007) with michelle laroque and matthew modine is a refreshing quirky romantic comedy with a beautiful mature french leading lady - and she has character lines on her face and is real - none of this hollywood plastic airbrushed perfection. It's so nice to find a movie to watch without the top 5 hollywood stars in. Let's see some fresh foreign faces for a change that give an alternative view on life, love and eternity.
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A surprisingly good film!!

Movie Man | 10/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was such a great movie! I really wasn't expecting much - it was a friend's choice. But the film has a really great feel to it. Its got a very satisfying quality to it. Matthew Modine is really good in this one. I don't want to spoil the movie, but there are also some really funny moments. I would watch this film again and again."

A good idea, bungled in execution

Zenith | Medford, MA | 11/19/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

""The Neighbor" contains the germ of a good urban comedy, one which all city dwellers face: the obnoxious neighbor whose annoying habits are too close for comfort. The protagonist of the story is Christine, some sort of urban planner, who owns her condo and the one above it. As soon as Jeff, an artist and the tenant of the upstairs condo, moves out, she can renovate both units in time for her wedding to fiance Jonathan, an obnoxious type-A lawyer. Of course Jeff doesn't want to leave, and the battle of wills between the two of them is the plot driving the movie.

Unfortunately, the idea is better than the execution. French actress Michele Laroque plays Christine with Gallic efficiency, but I found it hard to warm up to her. She was perfectly competent, but didn't show much of an emotional range beyond mild exasperation, and I could not for the life of me understand why, halfway through the movie, she is suddenly attracted to her nebbishy upstairs neighbor, despite having despised him through the rest of the film. They have no chemistry together and nothing in the film presages this at all, so when it finally occurs, it just feels forced.

Matthew Modine, well known from "And the Band Played On" and other movies, plays upstairs neighbor Jeff, while Ed Quinn, who was so good as Nathan Stark on "Eureka," plays fiance Jonathan. I think these two actors were in the wrong roles. Matthew Modine's smug smile would have been more believable on the Type-A lawyer rather than the incompetent wreck upstairs, whereas the artsy-fartsy vibe that Ed Quinn gives off would have worked better on the artist. The only believable characters were Gina Mantegna, as Jeff's teenage daughter, and Ann Cusack, as Christine's best friend.

Set in Los Angeles, "The Neighbor" has some funny moments, such as why the margaritas are so salty, and what happens to Jonathan's eyebrows. However, this movie will make you a) glad you live alone, and b) glad you are single.
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