The Boy Next Door

In this wannabe erotic thriller, Jennifer Lopez stars as Claire Peterson, Southern California's most glamorous high school teacher, with Ryan Guzman as Noah Sandborn, her hunky 19-year-old neighbor. Lonely Claire has been separated from philandering husband Garrett (John Corbett) for almost a year, raising asthmatic teenage son Kevin (Ian Nelson) in the San Fernando Valley. Best friend/high school vice-principal Vicky (Kristin Chenoweth) is urging her to move on, which she does in an ill-advised one-night stand with Noah that she immediately regrets the next morning. But psychotic Noah is not about to abandon Claire, whom he describes as “a woman to be cherished.” So he becomes her obsessive stalker, adding the threat of blackmail, while telling Kevin, “I love your mother's cookies.” Ineptly directed by Rob Cohen, this micro-budgeted, gender-reversal Fatal Attraction is a pulpy unbelievable melodrama. Not recommended. [Note: Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Rob Cohen, deleted scenes (10 min.), a “making-of” featurette (9 min.), and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a cheesy film.] (S. Granger)