THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

Hooking up with your ex-boyfriend’s girlfriend’s ex-girlfriend? Because reasons.

All Cleo wants to care about is getting into New York University to study film and make horror movies. She does not want to care that Daniel, her ex, cheated on her with girly girl Kiki. She is going to finish her screenplay, get into her dream college, and get the heck out of North Carolina. There is absolutely no need to fake-date Marianne, who is Kiki’s ex and Cleo’s next-door neighbor. Marianne and Cleo were besties back when they were kids, but ever since middle school, Cleo’s been in the artsy crowd and Marianne’s been popular. Maybe this faux relationship will torment Daniel and help Marianne win back Kiki, but it’s painful taking Marianne to homecoming. Gorgeous, funny Marianne, who’s like a Brazilian American “Kristen Stewart with her hair slicked back” and “James Dean bathed in vintage cinematography.” Marianne, who is funny, loves her family, and has anxiety. The slow-moving train wreck of Cleo’s senior year gains momentum and accelerates to the extent that some essential epiphanies are rushed. But Cleo’s filmmaker eye frames the entirety of her life like a classic movie, and the rushed ending fits in a world where she’s learned she’s not the director. In this multiracial setting, race is primarily mentioned only for characters who are not White; Cleo is implied White by default.

A warm, charming tale of a horror-loving film buff who’s stuck in a romantic comedy.