Neighbors (2014) | Movie Review

Love them or hate them, Frat comedies are here to stay. From the erstwhile days of Animal House on, the ideology of the insanity stemming from the collegiate atmosphere is a continuing staple of film lore. And why not? How many of us wanted to go to college not for the years of learning squeezed into an 8 x 10 Wal-Mart frame, but to instead partake in the most amazing and decadent kegger party that has ever been witnessed by man?

Neighbors joins these two worlds together in a universe where the fun-loving frat guys you wish you knew in college, go up against the more simple-life leading Americans that most of us really are. Family vs. Frat, as the film’s clever and to-the-point marketing efforts exploit. What would you do if a fraternity moved next door to you? Would you try to be the cool and hip person you wish you could be? Or the crusty curmudgeon shuffling those pesky kids off of your front lawn?

At first, new parents Mac and Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) attempt the former. Welcoming the new fraternity (led by a mostly shirtless Zac Efron as Teddy) into their neighborhood with open arms. After several years of marriage, boredom and now this new baby; this new infusion of youth is exactly what their droll yet routine life demands. Teddy welcomes them into his pleasure palace with only one stipulation: If their parties get out of control – call him and not the police.

After yet another sleepless night with no answer from Teddy, the Radners inform the fuzz about the frat’s overindulgence in fun and war brews between the two. Teddy, along with his co-conspirators Pete (Dave Franco) and Spoonie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) begin the attack, but the Radners are more than willing to retort. What begins as small gags quickly escalates into exploding airbags, flooding basements and deplorable manipulations. Before long, the movie devolves into a full-on War of the Roses Go to College.

Zac Efron is almost a revelation here. With his effortless charm and complete absorption of his dude-bro character, Efron commits to a confidence not yet seen on screen. Teddy is a good guy, and a complete imbecile, yet his minions follow him blindly because he has the conviction to see everything through to their asinine conclusion (except his own basic education of course). If Efron was trying to convey his desire to play roles designed for more than just a pretty face, Neighbors should have no trouble taking him to the next level.

Seth Rogen, on the other hand, has managed to cement himself as the Adam Sandler of the pot-toker comedies. While amusing, Rogen offers absolutely nothing new or noteworthy to his role. It was almost as though the character could legally change his name to Rogen just to make it a tad easier for the audience. Thankfully he is paired up with Rose Byrne, who gives a deliciously wicked portrayal of a seemingly good and decent woman (and also finally allowed to use her natural accent) who turns out to be the most vicious frat brother of them all. Watching Kelly use her feminine wiles to seduce two college kids into a tryst was reminiscent of the Salma Hayek snake scene in From Dusk Till Dawn…the crowd was in awe.

No frat comedy is complete without a band of rowdy frat brothers and Neighbors has a solid pair here with Franco and Mintz-Plasse. Franco especially is a highlight reel of character moments as anytime Pete shows up, we are treated to some ridiculous line or inflection guaranteed to bring a smile. Pete also has what feels like a genuine friendship with Teddy that is given more heart than a movie like this probably deserves, but desperately needs. Mintz-Plasse manages to avoid his nail-bitingly exhausting persona to just let loose and almost come across as more fun than the irritatingly grating personas he usually inhabits. Almost.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek director Nicholas Stoller is deeply familiar with this style of comedy and he keeps the humor flowing fast and loose with nary a dry spell. The film does suffer a bit from seeming more like a series of SNL skits duct-taped together than any kind of solid narrative as we bounce from prank to magnified prank, yet it still manages to be one of the more laugh-out-loud comedies in some time.

Neighbors does not aim to bring anything new to the timeless, drunken ridiculousness of the Frat sub-genre…it only arrives to tell the audience that it is perfectly ok to let loose and have some fun now and again. With engaging performances, foul debauchery masked in good taste and some hilariously evil setups; Neighbors will be playing at Delta Tau Chi for years to come.

If $10 is the full price of admission, Neighbors is worth $6.50

 
Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider