The Girl Next Door

"There's more to me than just sex," says a frustrated Stacy Baker, a.k.a. Stacy Valentine. "A lot more." She's trying to convince herself, clearly, and not having much success, judging from this documentary by Christine Fugate (Tobacco Blues). Stacy, an Oklahoma housewife turned porn star, has already told us that she isn't good at anything other than sex, and that if she wants affection, she has her cats. Although she relents long enough to move in with boyfriend Julian, also a porn star, the relationship is quickly sabotaged by a lack of trust. Julian, however, continues to pursue her on and off, hoping that the real woman whom he loves, Stacy Baker, will emerge from the facade that is Stacy Valentine. Surprisingly for a female-directed look at the porn industry, Fugate's film maintains a level of titillation and innocence for a long time, never condemning the industry until Stacy herself begins to get disillusioned with it. It is strongly hinted that Stacy's background, involving a violent father and husband, led her to her current status, but she also credits her career with "saving" her and getting her into a field where she could have some control. We also see, in graphic detail, where Stacy's desire for control will take her: She undergoes liposuction, breast implant replacement, and collagen injections, as Fugate's camera looks on unflinchingly. The film leaves us to be the judge of the morality in all of this, and does so effectively, although the lack of outright condemnation from the filmmakers themselves will inevitably lead to outrage from critics on the extreme left and right. Fugate, after all, is ultimately not as concerned with the industry as she is with Stacy, and as a portrait of a young woman trying to find herself, The Girl Next Door succeeds admirably.