Film synopsis
Kelly Radner (Rose Byrne) and Mac Radner (Seth Rogen) are starting a family and what better way to start off than to buy a house in a quiet neighbourhood? That is, until a fraternity spearheaded by Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco) move in next door and start causing problems for the Radner family.
My thoughts on the film
We all know Seth Rogen is one funny dude, but Zac Efron in a comedy that isn’t directed towards teens? Say it ain’t so! Some people may have rolled their eyes when they saw him in the trailer and they probably had their doubts, which is fair. So, does Efron’s performance in Neighbors skyrocket him into a comedy star? Well, I wouldn’t go so far as “star”, but he might be onto something. Before digging deeper into Efron’s performance, there are obvious comedic stars in Neighbors that we cannot overlook. There’s no doubt that Seth Rogen is the main guy in Neighbors. Most will recognize Rose Byrne from Bridesmaids and while I’ve never been a big fan of hers, her performance in Neighbors changed my mind. Other notable actors are Christopher Mintz-Plasse from Superbad (McLovin’) and Dave Franco, who, if you can’t figure out by now, is James Franco’s brother. So, how did Efron do? Efron was great. He’s got some comedic chops to him and I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes on more projects with actors like Rogen.
Aside from acting, Neighbors has a basic storyline, but it’s hilarious. A fraternity sets up shop beside a family who just wants peace and quiet. The family asks them to keep it down, which they don’t, and it turns into a war. Neighbors reminds me of This Is The End, in the sense of its comedic approach. With that being said, Neighbors is a bit toned down compared to This Is The End, so if you didn’t like This Is The End, you could still give Neighbors a shot. The one weakness that is a bit glaring, is that Neighbors is a tad unrealistic. Sure, we’re talking about a movie here, but we all cringe when something unrealstic happens and once that happens, it throws a wrench into your enjoyment. I get that it’s a comedy and sometimes, things need to be unrealistic to be funny, but that might be more of a knock on the writers than anything else.
Rating 4/5
Neighbors, a.k.a. Neighbours (for us Canadians), a.k.a Bad Neighbors is possibly this year’s This Is The End. So, depending on how you feel about that film, you’ll either really enjoy this film or you might give this one a skip. Either way, there are some good laughs for everyone.
Neighbors is out May 9th.
