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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
The Girl Next Door (2000)

The Girl Next Door (2000)

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Released 24-Oct-2001

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Documentary Main Menu Audio & Animation
Theatrical Trailer
Biographies-Cast & Crew
Production Notes
Trailer-Tackle Happy; Amores Perros; Betty Blue; The Monkey's Mask
Trailer-Mullet; Paris, Texas; Romance; Sex-The Annabel Chong Story
DVD Credits
Rating Rated R
Year Of Production 2000
Running Time 82:11
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Christine Fugate
Studio
Distributor
Café Sisters Prods
Madman Entertainment
Starring Stacy Valentine
Case Click
RPI $39.95 Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio Unknown Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    The Girl Next Door shows how one innocent photo gave Stacy Baker, a housewife from Oklahoma, a career and a whole new way of life. This movie was filmed over a period of 2 years and focuses on the life of Stacy Valentine and her immediate family. Because it was shot over such a long period of time, you get to see Stacy's transition from reserved to someone who is very open and freely discusses all aspects of her work and private life as time progresses.

    I'll be honest. Like all red-blooded males, I have seen the odd blue movie or three but I had no idea what to expect when this DVD arrived for review. I was pleasantly surprised with this documentary. I found the content well-balanced, and the in-depth interviews informative and intriguing. As an added bonus, you get to see Stacy at work, although because of this title's R rating, most of the scenes are left up to your imagination, or the camera pans behind the film crew, blocking out the really risqué bits.

    The behind-the-scenes shots give an insight into how the movies are split into soft and hard sections. Bedroom film buffs will get a buzz from seeing the tricks of the trade. It is also clear from the "stunt d*cks" and fake shots that what is filmed for the camera is not all to be believed. And believe it or not, the actors say they actually work to a written script.

    Over the two years of filming, Stacy undergoes 3 operations: Liposuction, Breast Reduction and a Lip Enlargement. You get to see sections of each of the operations in all their glory, which would definitely upset those of you with weak stomachs.

    The interviews with her mother, stepfather and sister were interesting and it is clear to see that a lot of Stacy's energy is derived from their ongoing support. There are also numerous one-on-one interviews with the lady herself where she discusses her ups and downs in life.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    As this documentary was shot over such a long period of time, it is evident that various cameras of varying quality were used, and various shooting styles were used over this time. The overall video quality suffers somewhat as a result.

    The transfer is presented in a Full Frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is therefore not 16x9 enhanced.

    This transfer is quite clear and sharp and only had minor problems. However, it is the original source material that lessens the overall quality of the transfer and the instances are too numerous to mention specifically. At 57:58 and again at 65:53 the camera loses focus on the subjects for a few seconds and then readjusts, which was quite annoying and distracting. The shadow detail is good and there were no specific problems in this area. There is no detectable low level noise.

    The quality and consistency of the transfer's colour went hand-in-hand with the video quality. If the scene had poor video quality, then the colours were drab and dull. On the other hand, in other scenes they were vibrant, rich and clear.

    There was only one MPEG artefact that I noticed and it occurred at 22:28. Aliasing is very rare and very mild when it does occur and the worst example was early on at 2:03. Film artefacts are very rare and not distracting at all.

    There are no subtitles on this disc (and "moaning" doesn't require them anyway...).

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is only one audio soundtrack on this DVD; English Dolby Digital 2.0.

    The dialogue was usually clear and easy to understand, but Stacy's boyfriend Julian liked to talk without opening his mouth so you need to listen carefully to hear him on numerous occasions. At 20:09 the audio level dropped too low and needed a volume adjustment. This only lasted for a few seconds before returning to the previous sound level. The same thing happened again at 23:30 and is presumably inherent in the source material.

    Audio sync was not a problem at all with this transfer, and was completely spot-on at all times.

    The musical score was a fitting choice for this style of film, or for any blue movie for that matter. The music did not drown out the dialogue at any point during the movie.

    The surround channels were not used during the film.

    Like the surrounds, the subwoofer was silent.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    The extras primarily consist of bios and too many trailers.

Menu

    The menu design is themed around the film and is not 16x9 enhanced. The main menu features an animated clip and Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded audio.

Theatrical Trailer

    The quality is consistent with the rest of the movie and varies from good to bad. It is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded sound.

Stacy Valentine

    This extra provides a detailed list of Stacy's achievements, background information and titles she has starred in. All information is in text form with no video.

Biographies-Cast & Crew

    This section contains detailed information in static text format about the filmmakers that put this production together. They are; Christine Fugate (Producer/Director), Adam Burns (Producer), Erin McGinnis (Producer), Kate Amend (Editor) and Michelle Wernick (Music Supervisor).

Production Notes

    More detailed information about the production of The Girl Next Door, again in a text only format.

Trailers

    A collection of 8 Madman movie trailers are provided here for viewing. They are presented in a mixture of Full Screen and Widescreen aspect ratios of varying image quality. The titles covered are; Amores Perros (Love's A B*tch); Betty Blue; The Monkey's Mask; Mullet; Paris, Texas; Romance; Sex-The Annabel Chong Story and Tackle Happy.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    There is no specific R1 version of this DVD that I could find reference to.

Summary

    The Girl Next Door was certainly different to my usual viewing choices and probably worth at least a rent. Fans of Stacy Valentine will probably want to see it regardless of the video quality.

    The video quality varied.

    The audio soundtrack is only available in stereo.

    The extras are not overly interesting.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Peter Mellor (read my bio)
Wednesday, October 31, 2001
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer XV-DV55, using S-Video output
DisplayLoewe 72cm. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer XV-DV55
SpeakersPioneer S-DV55ST-K Satellite wall mouted 5-Speaker System; Pioneer S-DV55SW-K Powered Subwoofer

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