THE BOY NEXT DOOR | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"THE BOY NEXT DOOR"
(2014) (Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman) (R)

QUICK TAKE:: Dramatic Thriller: A nearly divorced high school teacher must contend with the aftermath of having a lapse of better judgment and sleeping with her new, 19-year-old next-door neighbor.

PLOT:

Claire Peterson (JENNIFER LOPEZ) is a high school literature teacher who's quite close to divorcing her husband, Garrett (JOHN CORBETT), something Claire's best friend and vice principal, Vicky Lansing (KRISTIN CHENOWETH), urges her to do. But Claire has mixed feelings, especially since their 17-year-old son, Kevin (IAN NELSON), is still fond of his father.

She's happy when her new next door neighbor, recently orphaned 19-year-old Noah Sandborn (RYAN GUZMAN) -- who's arrived to take care of his sickly great uncle, Mr. Sandborn (JACK WALLACE) -- instantly befriends Kevin. Not only does he show him how to fix cars, but he also gets Kevin to talk to the classmate, Allie Callahan (LEXI ATKINS), he's smitten with, and is concerned about some classmate bullies, led by Jason Zimmer (ADAM HICKS), who torment Kevin.

Accordingly, Claire thinks Noah's an okay guy, especially with his good looks and appreciation of the classics of literature. One night, while Kevin is away, he manages to seduce Claire who gives in to the temptation and sleeps with him. But the next morning she's regretting that decision, and her sudden cold feet instantly angers Noah.

As she tries to act like nothing happened, he becomes fixated on her, and the more she resists and tries to tell him there's no future between them, the more obsessed and angry he becomes. From that point on, she must contend with him stalking her, the possibility of him spilling the beans about their tryst, and the potential of him doing something violent.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: They might if they're fans of anyone in the cast or like suspense/thriller genre films.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For violence, sexual content/nudity and language.

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