Diksha Sundriyal
In 2015’s ‘The Boy Next Door,’ Jennifer Lopez plays the role of Claire, who is tending to her broken heart after her husband cheats on her. In the hopes of having a new beginning, she decides to focus her energy elsewhere, and this is when she is charmed by a 19-year-old Noah. He studies at the same school where she teaches; if this wasn’t enough to put them in proximity, they are also neighbors. Things get complicated after they have a fling, and Claire tries to stop it, only to witness Noah’s wrath. She’s neither safe in her home nor at her workplace. The school plays an important part in furthering the plot and is filmed at a real school.
The Birmingham Community Charter High School Sits in For the Fictional John Monroe High
‘The Boy Next Door’ is a fictional film set in Los Angeles, California. The movie is filmed on location, and several real-life places from the city appear in it, even though they are cloaked under a made-up name. The John Monroe High School, where Claire works, also falls into that category. In real life, there is no John Monroe High School. There is a James Monroe High School in North Hills, California, but it has no connection to the school in the movie.
The scenes concerning the school were filmed at the Birmingham Community Charter High School, formerly Birmingham High School, located at 1710 Haynes Street, Lake Balboa, in the San Fernando Valley. It is a “thriving, collaborative community that provides an academically challenging, personalized, and supportive environment that prepares individual students to be the best version of themselves and pursue their post-high school academic and career goals.” The school has notable alumni like actors Lisa Bonet and Sally Field. It has also nurtured the talents that have led to illustrious careers in varied fields, like NFL players, NASA scientists, professional skateboarding, judges, and state assembly members.
Apart from ‘The Boy Next Door,’ the film has also been employed for the filming of other movies, TV shows, music videos, and commercials. TV series like ‘Monk,’ ‘The Office,’ ‘Scrubs,’ ‘Nip/Tuck,’ and ‘NCIS’ have been listed among the shows that have been filmed here. Singers like Eminem, Charli XCX, Gwen Stefani, and Lil Wayne are among the few who have also used the school as a backdrop in their music videos.
In the movie, John Monroe High is a crucial location for Claire because it isn’t just where she works but also where her son goes to school. With everything falling apart in her life, this is the only place where she feels she has some control. But when even that starts to slip away from her, she realizes how messed up her situation is with Noah, and it forces her to take charge.
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