OK, before I begin this review, let's get a few things straight.

The Girl Next Door, this month's latest flick in the undying tradition of teen sex comedies, is a complete rip-off of Risky Business.

There's no denying it. From the first familiar strains of the film's old-school synth score to its "straight-laced teen meets racy sex-pot" theme, The Girl Next Door is every bit the controversial '80s classic, minus Tom Cruise in his skivvies. However, against the custom of most formulaic teen comedies, The Girl Next Door makes this rehashed sex farce its own by having a real sense of high school politics in addition to being genuinely funny.

Older critics have already panned this film as being tasteless and immoral in the grand tradition of all teen comedies, yet anyone who's attended high school within the last couple of years will know that The Girl Next Door is a dead-on representation.

Sure, the flick's porn-inspired hijinks and all-too-convenient plot resolutions are a far cry from most of our adolescent experiences, but the characters and relationships within this film are certainly real.

Take the romantic relationship between the leads, Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert. Though she's a world-weary member of the porn industry and he's a naïve overachiever bound for an Ivy League education, they actually have a gentle affection for each other that blooms into a believable romance. Despite their different lifestyles, Hirsch and Cuthbert seem to share a similar innocence when it comes to falling in love, which starts to show as the two characters become more and more involved with each other.

Even closer to home are the film's stand-out supporting characters: a sex-obsessed virgin played by Chris Marquette and a dry-witted do-gooder played by Paul Dano. The two, paired with Hirsch, make a perfect comedic threesome within The Girl Next Door's sexual circus.

While Hirsch serves as the main ring, especially in a hilarious scene in which he accidentally takes ecstasy, Marquette and Dano work the side ring like the perfect comedic clowns they are.

Marquette's the hormone-frenzied female predator who thinks he's a ladies man, but is really all talk and no action. Dano, on the other hand, is the complete antithesis to Marquette, a soft-spoken and smart-witted goof. From Marquette's hyperactive, hormone-induced antics to Dano's dry one-liners, the two combined are a scene-stealing comedic force. Case in point? The two practically bring down the house in a scene in which they pose as directors at a porn convention, looking for female prospects.

Combine these energetic performances with a sweet romance and titillating back-story and you've got the perfect formula for a teen comedy classic. The Girl Next Door could possibly be the next American Pie, or, to do the film more justice, our generation's Risky Business.