Splitting this review up into two parts for y’all:
1/ Thoughts on the doc
2/ A quick anecdote of my former neighbor (don’t worry he wasn’t a murderer)
This a bit of a long one so feel free to skip part 2.
1/ Thoughts:
This is a fascinating way of storytelling. It is raw, unfiltered, and true to the fact. That being said it felt unbelievably invasive to watch. I’m sure the real people in this consented and/or got some sort of compensation, but it just felt wrong to watch true human experiences unfold and be broadcasted to the world. The poor child who’s mother passed will have to live with the fact that his reaction is shown in this documentary for the rest of time. He will never get to reliquinsh that memory and moment of pain because of this doc. It feels wrong.
2/ A quick anecdote:
When I was growing up, our next door neighbor was this sweet old woman. My earliest memories were of her on her own in that house, but she had been there long before myself or my parents arrived. She I believe bought the plot of land way back in the day when our suburban neighborhood was being developed, raised her children, lived an entire life with her family in that home. She was an excellent neighbor and everyone around the block was always ready to help her when she needed something. Unfortunately when I was around 16 or so, she passed.
The house was small, built in the 30s, but the plot was extremely valuable and in a great location with great school, access to NYC, etc. Naturally, a rich millennial couple came in and purchased the home. I forget the wife’s name, but the guys name was Matt. Matt is “Perfect Neighbor” in question.
They bought the property and spent the first couple years not really living there because they were gutting the place, remodeling, adding a second floor, and a slew of other improvements. So far no major issues. Once they finally did move in things started to really change.
My neighborhood growing up was a lot of boomer aged families, kids always running up and down the streets playing, block parties with ice cream trucks, etc. Matt & wife were probably the first millennials and they didn’t really fit into the typical behaviors of our other neighbors. They, mostly him, were shrewd, disrespectful, and just generally unpleasant.
Over the few years they lived there I specifically had the cops called on me at least 10 times. I am a very respectful and kind kid, even when I was a shithead teenager. There was no situation in which calling the cops was justified. A few examples when I had cops called on me were, having beers in my backyard playing music with buddies. We were all 21 and music was very quiet because we were just sitting around a fire. The cops were called at 10:01 PM, right after you can put in for a noise complaint.
I had the cops called on me for parking on the street in front of their house. Given that it was a public road, the cop wasn’t really sure what to tell me to do for this one. We kept parking there when people would come over because we knew it would piss him off.
My favorite and last story was from the night after a big snowstorm. I was home from college and got up relatively early to try and get what had snowed so far off the drive way and clear the cars out. It was still really coming down at this point and we had maybe 7 inches on the ground. I was shoveling and tossing snow anywhere I could to clear things off. I had some music playing and was just vibing along for about 30-45 min. Next thing I know, I look up and an Allendale PD (my hometown) car is at the base of my driveway. I know it had to be something from this douche Nextdoor, but what could it possibly be? All I had done that day was shovel my fucking driveway.
Well I walk over and the officer is just disappointed that he even had to be there. Frankly it wasn’t safe to be driving. I ask him what was wrong and he says “Your neighbor made a complaint that you were throwing snow into his yard”. I genuinely don’t remember what my reaction was but I can say it was disbelief. I was asked to stop throwing snow that way by the officer and he drove away. I did not oblige given that I had no where else to put the snow.
A few years later, and a few more police calls later, they moved out. Moral of my story… don’t be a shitty neighbor and don’t waste the time of police officers.
Splitting this review up into two parts for y’all:
1/ Thoughts on the doc
2/ A quick anecdote of my former neighbor (don’t worry he wasn’t a murderer)
This a bit of a long one so feel free to skip part 2.
1/ Thoughts:
This is a fascinating way of storytelling. It is raw, unfiltered, and true to the fact. That being said it felt unbelievably invasive to watch. I’m sure the real people in this consented and/or got some sort of compensation, but it just felt wrong to watch true human experiences unfold and be broadcasted to the world. The poor child who’s mother passed will have to live with the fact that his reaction is shown in this documentary for the rest of time. He will never get to reliquinsh that memory and moment of pain because of this doc. It feels wrong.
2/ A quick anecdote:
When I was growing up, our next door neighbor was this sweet old woman. My earliest memories were of her on her own in that house, but she had been there long before myself or my parents arrived. She I believe bought the plot of land way back in the day when our suburban neighborhood was being developed, raised her children, lived an entire life with her family in that home. She was an excellent neighbor and everyone around the block was always ready to help her when she needed something. Unfortunately when I was around 16 or so, she passed.
The house was small, built in the 30s, but the plot was extremely valuable and in a great location with great school, access to NYC, etc. Naturally, a rich millennial couple came in and purchased the home. I forget the wife’s name, but the guys name was Matt. Matt is “Perfect Neighbor” in question.
They bought the property and spent the first couple years not really living there because they were gutting the place, remodeling, adding a second floor, and a slew of other improvements. So far no major issues. Once they finally did move in things started to really change.
My neighborhood growing up was a lot of boomer aged families, kids always running up and down the streets playing, block parties with ice cream trucks, etc. Matt & wife were probably the first millennials and they didn’t really fit into the typical behaviors of our other neighbors. They, mostly him, were shrewd, disrespectful, and just generally unpleasant.
Over the few years they lived there I specifically had the cops called on me at least 10 times. I am a very respectful and kind kid, even when I was a shithead teenager. There was no situation in which calling the cops was justified. A few examples when I had cops called on me were, having beers in my backyard playing music with buddies. We were all 21 and music was very quiet because we were just sitting around a fire. The cops were called at 10:01 PM, right after you can put in for a noise complaint.
I had the cops called on me for parking on the street in front of their house. Given that it was a public road, the cop wasn’t really sure what to tell me to do for this one. We kept parking there when people would come over because we knew it would piss him off.
My favorite and last story was from the night after a big snowstorm. I was home from college and got up relatively early to try and get what had snowed so far off the drive way and clear the cars out. It was still really coming down at this point and we had maybe 7 inches on the ground. I was shoveling and tossing snow anywhere I could to clear things off. I had some music playing and was just vibing along for about 30-45 min. Next thing I know, I look up and an Allendale PD (my hometown) car is at the base of my driveway. I know it had to be something from this douche Nextdoor, but what could it possibly be? All I had done that day was shovel my fucking driveway.
Well I walk over and the officer is just disappointed that he even had to be there. Frankly it wasn’t safe to be driving. I ask him what was wrong and he says “Your neighbor made a complaint that you were throwing snow into his yard”. I genuinely don’t remember what my reaction was but I can say it was disbelief. I was asked to stop throwing snow that way by the officer and he drove away. I did not oblige given that I had no where else to put the snow.
A few years later, and a few more police calls later, they moved out. Moral of my story… don’t be a shitty neighbor and don’t waste the time of police officers.
5
