Released: May 9th, 2014
Rated: R
Studio: Universal
Starring: Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Dave Franco
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Written by: Andrew J. Cohen, Brendan O’Brien
Personal Bias Alert: not
a fan of crass humor, not a Seth Rogan fan (do those two things go hand in
hand?)
6.5 of 10
When
I saw the trailer for “Neighbors,” I never thought the film would actually be
about something. I went in ready for a
silly, gross-out gag fest with a loosely constructed story to give the whole
thing some semblance of direction. Yet
once the movie got going, I found that I was as entertained by the plot as I
was by the gags.
“Neighbors”
stars Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne as Mac and Kelly Radner, a young couple with a
baby who are settling into adult life. They’ve
bought a house and are anxiously awaiting to find out who will move in next
door. When a frat shows up, with Zac
Efron’s Teddy as president, they are justifiably concerned. As the noise level increases next door, the
couple become desperate to defend their turf and end up engaging in all-out war
with the young frat members.
This
is a film made predominantly by 30-somethings, and it shows in the film’s central
theme. I know, talking about themes in a
movie like “Neighbors” seems ridiculous, but I swear it’s a prominent and
interesting aspect of the film. Each of
the main characters are at a transitional point in their lives: Mac and Kelly have started a family and can
no longer consider themselves young adults, and Teddy and Dave Franco’s Pete
are in their senior year of college, that weird time when you know that real
life is about to hit you in the face.
Each are struggling with the inevitable changes, and the central
conflict of family vs. frat acts as a perfect metaphor for their internal
struggles.
It’s
an emotionally honest film, and that results in well-formed characters. They all react to the changes in their own
ways, and even wife Kelly gets her own agencies (I love that they didn’t
sideline her as a nagging wife). Efron,
Rogan, and Byrne all play well off each other and generate some solid
laughs. Some of the other actors
(Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse) weren’t on the same level, but it’s never
too detrimental.
Alright,
I’ve gone on enough about this plot and character stuff, now to the humor. I found the movie to be funny despite
focusing on my least favorite styles of humor.
I just don’t find people getting thrown into a ceiling that funny, but
there’s a decent enough mix of physical, gross-out, and situational humor that
everyone should find jokes they can laugh at.
Some of the gross-out jokes were drawn out, which I didn’t enjoy, but
that’s to be expected from this Apatow-based group. I can’t say I laughed out loud much, but I
was amused the whole way through.
I
may be in the minority, but I found the plot and the situational humor of this
movie to be more entertaining than the improv bits and crass jokes that these
guys are known for. I have to give it
credit for mixing it up, though. I think
this is a film that can appeal to a wide audience, and normally word of mouth
would help a film like this stick around in theaters a long time. Unfortunately, the coming weeks are chock-full
of massive releases, with “Godzilla,” “X-Men:
Days of Future Past,” and “Maleficent” all coming out in the next three
weeks. I’m hoping this little comedy
delight won’t get lost in the shuffle.
Other Notes:
Ø There’s
a lot of shaky cam in this movie, and sometimes it was distracting.
Ø I
couldn’t find much information on screenwriters Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan
O’Brien, but HitFix has a good article on them.
Read it here: http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/the-screenwriters-of-seth-rogens-neighbors-say-the-star-is-not-what-he-seems/2
Ø The
set design on this film was really strong.
Those two houses felt lived-in and age appropriate.
Ø I
apparently don’t understand accents, because I thought Rose Byrne’s Australian
accent was a bit shaky. Turns out she’s
Australian, and that’s her natural accent.
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