‘Neighbors’ is a raunchy comedy about a couple with a baby dealing with their neighbors who happen to be a college fraternity. The film is directed by Nicholas Stoller, and stars Seth Rogen and Zac Efron. The film has a good setup and has a good story and message. The comedy in this film is not for everyone but it has some very funny moments but there are moments when the characters are annoying.
Seth Rogen plays the father who doesn’t want to grow up. He is childish and immature which works for this film. There are moments in the film where he just keeps talking in a joke and it ends up killing the joke. Every time him and his wife, played by Rose Byrne, talk about how they are still cool, or most of their private conversations lasted too long with them saying the same thing repeatedly. His character development was well done and he gives a believable performance.
Zac Efron plays his usual immature young adult role. He can be funny but the real comedic moments are in his dealings with Rogen’s character. He has some touching moments with Rogen and his best friend, played by Dave Franco. He captures being the head of an immature fraternity very well.
Rose Byrne does a good job but she plays almost the same role as Rogen but she is more mature and smarter. Dave Franco is the smart guy of the fraternity and he plays it well, but nothing more to his character. All the other characters are either stereotypes or just comic punch line-characters.
The comedy is entertaining but very vulgar. The best jokes they have are many of the ones that were seen in the trailers for the film. The movies best features are some of the character relations and the theme of the story, which is about growing up and being responsible. The film has some good cinematography capturing the feel of being at a frat party. The comedic timing of the slapstick was right on the money leading to many laughs. The contrast and similarities of Rogen and Efron’s characters helped the film and story work out better. The film is enjoyable if you don’t mind vulgar humor.
