Out of control, glow in the dark party scenes? Check. Excessive psychedelic drug use? Check. Penis jokes? Check (in fact, this box is definitely checked off, thanks to both a certain yard sale sequence and a baby’s finding of a latex item). In these respects, this comedy hits all of its low-brow marks and gets the passing grade as an entertaining frat movie for this generation’s college-goers. But Neighbors, the new comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller (Get Him To The Greek), goes even further beyond the traditional wild frat partying cliché to make its mark, and impressively so. By enrolling Seth Rogen as the uncool newly husband and parent next-door, along with Zac Efron in a choice role that flaunts his most “bro-iest” of sides, the comedy makes for a laugh-out-loud time that is sure to bring those young tank-topped males running and hollering to the door.
Neighbors, also starring Rose Byrne, is the frat-comedy hangout movie that gets its yucks (comedically and disgustingly) by forcing its undergrads to confront their most formidable of opponents: grown ups. Though the “grown ups” in question here are hardly ones you’d call mature. When new parents/homeowners Mac (Rogen) and Kelly (Byrne) Radner, along with their newly infant daughter, move into a nice suburban home with dreams of starting an honest family life, they quickly find that plan disrupted by their new neighbors: keg-yielding fraternity members with a party mentality set to “self-destruct,” led by a machismo-soaked and muscle milked Teddy Sanders (Efron).
After Mac and Kelly, worrying for the new environment of Skrillex-blasted music that they have to raise their daughter in, attempt a peace offering with the fraternity that goes south quick, the ensuing runtime is a series of one-ups and revenge pranks, each camp determined to get the other to leave. As winning a formula as it is, director Stoller manages to keep a level head above the college humor of it all, allowing real story to drive the manic trade-offs. And although no audience member will be going into it or even hoping for “real story,” it’s certainly the invisible engine operating behind the camera that makes the movie a worthwhile outing.
Efron, returning to the screen in a new, less Disney-fied role, is a welcomed casting choice, and perhaps the movie’s secret weapon.
Formerly titled Townies, and then Bad Neighbors, the movie’s fun certainly boils down to the winning chemistry shared between its cast, particularly that of Rogen and Efron. And while it might have been easy (or even initially conceived) to pit Rogen against some generic evil young meathead for the lumpy stoner to shine brighter against, the dynamic settles into something a little more real, and a little more satisfying. It’s much more of a welcomed return on investment to see both sides’ reasons for declaring war. For Mac and Kelly, nervous first-time parents who find themselves longing for their younger years, and Sigma Fi Psi president Teddy, whose party on M.O. hides his insecurities of living a shallow life, everyone finds themselves fighting out of their deepest desires. But let’s not get bogged down by semantics: this is all achieved through dance-offs, exploding hidden airbags, and the film’s grossest staging of Kelly’s overly-inflated mammaries requiring a do-it-yourself milk pumping.
Efron, returning to the screen in a new, less Disney-fied role, is a welcomed casting choice, and perhaps the movie’s secret weapon. The young leading man, here as the equivalent of the bully in The Karate Kid, gets to show off not only his six-packed body, but also a more vulnerable and human side, showing hurt when Rogen breaks his first “bro” promise and when Sigma Fi Co-president Pete (Dave Franco) reveals that he might not be as invested in the fraternity lifestyle as much as he is. The allowing of Efron’s Teddy to show his hurt and insecurities gives the actor a worthwhile role and expands his range to impressive places.
Neighbors further impresses with its pulse on the college-kid party scene, with nearly every scene comprised of bass-bumping EDM and thirty drunk extras filling the frame. Though for all of its eye candy and scene filling props, the movie still feels like it was green-lit as a lower budgeted expense. It gets a slick treatment, but there’s no big studio making sure that this will be the Hangover of its time. But even still, and as every college student knows, there are still creative ways to stretch your dollar, which usually end up making for some of the most fun stories to look back on.
