Review of Neighbors (2014) by Andrew M — 26 Sep 2016

Seth Rogen delivers another laugh out loud comedy, yet still manages to tell another nice narrative along with it.

A married couple with a newborn baby struggle to find the balance between fun and life. However, when a fraternity moves into the house next door, they find themselves with a much bigger problem on hand. What turns out as a couple of innocent parties involves into what's essentially a massive prank war between sides.

One thing I have to say is that Seth Rogen deserves a lot of praise. It feels like the movies he attaches himself with are not only funny, but they often have a subliminal message behind them. This was not only a raunchy comedy at times, but had subtle messages about generations and their struggles to accept their ages. Not only will this keep you laughing throughout, but I felt satisfied by the time the credits rolled.

I honestly love the cast here and their chemistry together. Seth Rogen is still an extremely funny guy and even though he basically plays a similar role in each movie, he never goes over the top with it and manages to deliver simple comedy. I never knew Rose Byrne to be a comedic actor, but she was able to really feed off of the energy of the other talents, which really helped her comedy as a whole. Zac Efron was not only my favorite part of the movie, but I actually really like him as an actor. He actually does comedy really well and he's able to play the part of a two faced character. He's so charismatic yet so awful, and he's able to make you sympathize with him through his acting.

Admittedly, the comedy is the same comedy you've heard from Seth Rogen before and it's not much different here. If you've liked his movies in the past, you'll probably like this one. There are a few awkward moments of dialogue and comedy that really make you cringe but for the most part, I found myself laughing throughout the film. It's just a fun film that will manage to make you either giggle or laugh out loud at some point in the film. Yes, it has some toilet humor but for the most part, the comedy holds up pretty well in this movie.

I also really liked the pacing of this movie. They don't really put in a whole bunch of filler scenes (unnecessary scenes in order to increase run-time).

Which was much appreciated, as it felt like things were constantly moving at a steady pace.

The thing I liked most is that this movie actually had a story line. Obviously it's not very realistic or sensible at times, but they were really trying to relay this message about generations and age and it actually worked pretty well. All of these characters kind of go through their own problems and realizations and the movie really does a great job of giving them a story ark. The movie stays fun but it really is deeper at its core and it's a great example about how some people struggle with growing up and how not all adapt to life in the best way. It's something that I think some people will be able to relate to and this movie exemplifies that well.

In the end, I had a ton of fun with this movie and I've watched it multiple times by now. It still holds up every time and this was a quality made film with a lot of effort put into it.