Nicholas Stoller has made a name for himself directing raunchy comedies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek and The Five-Year Engagement, so it should come as no surprise that his latest film, Neighbors, follows a similar path.
Finally settled into their new home with their newborn child, Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) are ready to begin their stereotypical suburban lifestyle while still managing to remain cool and young at heart. All of a sudden things take a drastic turn when a fraternity moves into the house next door with the students raging into the wee hours of the morning, leaving both them and their baby sleepless. After attempting to make peace with the fraternity and its president Teddy (Zac Efron), Mac and Kelly break their promise to Teddy and call the police on the frat, unknowingly initiating a war between the frat and the family. Naturally, the level and scale of the warfare continues until things spiral out of control and beyond what once was a simple neighborhood feud.
Neighbors is a film that derives its comedy from a nice mixture of physical pranks and over-the-top dialogue. There are some hilarious moments throughout the film that’ll have you rolling on the floor whereas the rest of the film is just consistently funny even if some of it feels like a hodgepodge of bits we may have seen elsewhere.
If I didn’t know Stoller’s other films I’d say this was a solid comedic effort, but in comparison to his other features this may be his weakest work to date. Though being weak for him doesn’t necessarily equate to bad though because there are plenty of other raunchy comedies that don’t even come close to the level of hysteria this film reaches. In fact, much like his other comedies, Neighbors is a ton of fun and certainly a film that’ll get the audience going. It’s interesting to see how far he, the screenwriters, and his actors can push the envelope, going to extremes while still being original.
As in most of Stoller’s films, this one seems to leave us with some sort of message about adulthood and, in this case, becoming one as well. The way it’s expressed to us is still comical and perfect for those planning to go into the movie stoned, but it’s nice to see an underlying message in movies where the jokes are derived from childish and immature antics.
As for the acting, Shockingly, Rogen’s delivery felt awkward and unnatural as he tried to be this proper-adult stuck in a party boy’s body so his lines didn’t resonate as strongly as those of the frat boys, but when he is on he is certainly on. Rose Byrne goes au natural with her native Aussie accent, supporting actors Ike Barinholtz, Craig Roberts and Christopher Mintz-Plasse all contribute laughs in one way or another. Surp
risingly, Dave Franco is one of the shining stars in the film and that may be due to one special power he holds, but I thought he was actually the funniest in the film, especially with his Meet the Parents De Niro impersonation.
The only change we see acting-wise is with Efron. With Neighbors, Zac Efron continues to follow in the footsteps of Channing Tatum, turning his pretty boy persona into a comedic outlet, showing that he no longer takes himself too seriously and is willing to have fun as a ridiculous character. In fact, the comparisons to Tatum’s character in 21 Jump Street are rather uncanny, but who cares as long as it works. The only thing is that Efron’s comedic chops don’t even come close to that of Tatum’s, part of it may be because his laughs were overshadowed by the supporting cast and other leads, part of it may be due to the script itself, maybe it’s his acting, or maybe it’s just that his character wasn’t meant to be as funny as the rest. I haven’t decided yet but I at least appreciate the new direction he’s taking his career.
Neighbors is a very funny film that’ll satisfy most audience members thirst for laugh out loud raunchy comedy. I don’t think it’s a film that will have the comedic staying power over multiple viewings but, to be fair, most comedies don’t. That being said, if you’re a fan of raunchy comedies like Get Him to the Greek then Neighbors was made just for you, so go check it out and have a good time.
Rating: Over-the-top immature warfare with consistent laughs throughout (6.7/10)
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