Next Door
1995 VHS cover
Written byBarney Cohen
Directed byTony Bill
StarringJames Woods
Randy Quaid
Kate Capshaw
Lucinda Jenney
Music byVan Dyke Parks
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersJay Benson
Barney Cohen
CinematographyThomas Del Ruth
EditorAxel Hubert
Running time95 minuntes
Production companiesShowtime Networks
Nederlander Television and Film Productions, Inc.
Tudor Entertainment, Inc.
TriStar Television
Original release
NetworkShowtime
Release
  • September 4, 1994 (1994-09-04)

Next Door is a 1994 American black comedy television movie starring James Woods, Randy Quaid, Kate Capshaw and Lucinda Jenney. It originally aired September 4, 1994 on the Showtime network and was made available on VHS on January 17, 1995.

Plot

Matt Coler, a sophisticated college professor, and Karen, his schoolteacher wife, have moved to a new neighborhood for Matt's teaching job. They refuse campus housing and decide to live in the suburbs in order to expose their son Bucky to blue-collar types. Their neighbors turn out to be loutish beer-swilling butcher Lenny Benedetti and his wife Marci, who are unruly and loud.

When the Benedettis’ obsession with lawn watering drowns Karen's azaleas, a feud erupts between the two families, escalating into a series of tit-for-tat actions. Matt ruins Lenny's patio furniture, and Lenny retaliates by flooding Matt's car. Matt eventually tries calling a truce, but Lenny continues to harass the Colers. After their dog is poisoned, the Colers call the police. The cops find no evidence against Lenny and urge the two families to bury the hatchet and make peace.

The feud spreads to involve the families' children, with Bucky beating up Lenny's son Sparky. In return, Lenny attacks Matt and attempts to assault Karen while she is home alone. Matt goes to Lenny's workplace and publicly threatens him, revealing that Lenny has been laid off.

That night Lenny breaks into Matt's home and terrorizes the family. To defend his family, Matt desperately fights the bigger, stronger Lenny. The bloody battle ends with Lenny being set ablaze by Matt, who tells police that Lenny went too far.

Cast

Reception

In his review for Variety, John P. McCarthy complimented the performances of Woods, Quaid, and Capshaw, but wrote, "Cohen’s script has its ironies and logic, but there isn’t enough for a full-blown satire. Although Bill tries hard to blend the farcical humor and the nightmarish dimension, they ultimately cancel each other out."[1]

TV Guide wrote, "Barney Cohen's script is an amalgam of black comedy, suspense, and social commentary, but Next Door is never as funny, frightening, or incisive as it is unsettling. As the savagery escalates, the film's tone becomes increasingly uneasy, the filmmakers' message obscured".[2]

References

  1. McCarthy, John P. (August 30, 1994). "Next Door". Variety. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  2. "Next Door". TV Guide. Retrieved June 11, 2023.


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