Neighbors

Starring:Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, Lisa Kudrow, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Brian Huskey, Carla Gallo, Ike Barinholtz. Craig Roberts
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A husband (Seth Rogen) and wife (Rose Byrne) are dismayed when a fraternity moves in next door. When the fraternity's antics keep up their baby, they decide to take matters into their own hands.

Review:

Tim: Sometimes the best movies just take a simple idea and execute on it. Neighbors featured a tag line of, "Family vs. Frat". That right there is a simple but brilliant idea. The second I heard that was the idea behind the film, I was in. That is an idea that offers boatloads of comedic opportunities. It also helps that the movie has a great cast. I've always said comedy is hard, but Neighbors does it right. This might not quite be a great movie, but it's a thoroughly enjoyable film and one of the best comedies of 2014.

The cast is obviously important in a movie like this, and they just nailed it. The family is played by Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne. Rogen has such an infectious laugh and energy that it makes it hard for me not to enjoy watching him on screen. He plays that loveable doofus brilliantly. I really enjoyed him in this film. Rose Byrne, however, completely shocked me. I think she's a great actress, but is so often cast in unlikeable or unglamorous roles. Here, she steals the film by giving the best performance of the cast. She embraces her vulgar side and her comedic timing was impeccable. She worked well with Rogen and I actually kind of believed them as a married couple. It was great to see her commit so much to this role and she really elevated the content. Zac Efron continues his journey to respectability here. At one point, I dismissed him and disliked him strongly as an actor. He's given so many good performance lately that it's been harder and harder to hate him. He's perfectly cast as the leader of the fraternity and just wonderfully embodies that frat boy mentality. He's fun to watch on screen as he delivers a surprisingly strong performance. He works very well with Dave Franco. It was great fun watching these two interact on screen. The movie has strong supporting players, including Lisa Kudrow and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. I was surprised that Ike Barinholtz was as funny as he was, even though he isn't a great actor. Carla Gallo felt too over-the-top for me. It felt like she was trying way too hard. Still, the cast as a whole is very, very strong. That's what really helps this movie stand out.

The other aspect I loved about Neighbors is that this is actually a really, really funny movie. Yes, there's a lot of gross out gags, but there are legitimately clever laughs as well. It's hard to be funny in a film, and while many jokes don't hit the mark, this was significantly funnier than the majority of comedies I watch. Being funny is hard, but this movie delivered some tremendous moments and quotable lines.

I also think this movie benefited by executing well on a simple premise. We go into this film knowing it's a family verses a fraternity, and we can sit back and watch the hijinks. The plot is incredibly relatable. While most viewers will thankfully never live next to a fraternity, we can all sympathize with how frustrating and annoying bad neighbors can be. For that reason, we immediately sympathize with Rogen and Byrne, and now we've invested in the story. It's a simple tactic but a brilliant one, and one far too few movies seize.

Director Nicholas Stoller has been a bit inconsistent in his young career so far. He's directed a really good movie- Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a pretty disappointing movie- The Five-Year Engagement, and a fairly good one- Get Him to the Greek. Neighbors is certainly closer to Forgetting Sarah Marshall as the best of his career. While he hasn't delivered a truly great movie yet, Neighbors is certainly a step in the right direction. I'm actually interested again to see what he does next.

While this movie is a bit uneven and could have been even funnier, it's still a very, very good comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and consider it one of the funniest movies of 2014.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, The Five-Year Engagement, Knocked Up