When Nicholas Stoller’s Neighbors first hit theaters back in 2014 is was a surprise hit in my eyes. For me, it felt like the movie Zac Efron needed to do to break out of his proper pretty boy shell, similar to Channing Tatum with 21 Jump Street. That Awkward Moment was close but pitting Efron and Dave Franco against Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne proved to be a dynamite combination. The movie did so well that they managed to come up with a sequel that also happens to be pretty damn funny. I’d go so far as to say that it’s nearly as good as the first one.
In Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Mac (Rogan) and Kelly (Byrne) are in the process of selling their house and are in the escrow phase, meaning that their buyer has 30 days to pull out if they find out something is seriously wrong with the property. Cue a few freshman girls led by Shelby (Chloe Grace Moretz) who want to party but realize the established sororities aren’t allowed to throw them. They decide to form their own and manage to recruit the vindictive Teddy Sanders (Efron) to help them. Without a path in life and kicked out of Pete’s (Dave Franco) house, Teddy helps the girls out only to be betrayed later and forced to switch sides, aiding Mac and Kelly in their quest to get rid of the girls and sell their house.
I’ll be honest, I was surprised that the screenwriters were able to write a functional plot with a twist on the original story while still maintaining all the proper fun of the original film. They succeeded to such a degree that you’d be hard pressed to decide which movie was better, this or the original. What’s so great about Neighbors 2 is that by having a sorority as the focal point, the type of battle that ensues is pretty different and it’s cool to see how girls would react in a situation versus typical frat boys. On the same token, the writers carry over some of the best jokes in the original to create hilarious new bits in the sequel. I’m not going to spoil it for you though, don’t worry.
While I’m not completely sold on any of Chloe Grace Moretz’s acting outside of the first Kick-Ass, she was good enough that it didn’t bring down the quality of the film. It also helped that her supporting cast of sorority sisters were pretty funny, especially Christine, played by NY rapper Awkwafina, and one of the sorority OGs Nora, played by Beanie Feldstein.
The only major plot point that bothered me was that these seriously underage girls managed to start a sorority, rent a house, and throw regular parties. All Mac and Kelly had to do in order to get them to shut down would have been to call the cops and have them busted for drugs and underage drinking. These were freshman girls and even with the Dean on the girls’ side, there’s not much she can do if they’re arrested for illegal acts, but where’s the fun in that?
Even if the raunchy humor is more of the same, I thoroughly enjoyed Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. It’s the mindless comedy I needed among the plethora of dramas and superhero films that have been released lately. All in all, if you enjoyed the first Neighbors you are almost guaranteed to enjoy round two.
Recent Comments