By Kenneth Miranda
“Neighbors” is a hilarious paradox that consists of an energetic frat boy and a stressed father new to parenthood who clash and enter a long feud..
If you want to see a fun and clean family comedy then you should avoid seeing “Neighbors.” However if you don’t mind a bawdy comedy that will leave you laughing until your sides are splitting, then by all means, partake in watching a wonderfully offensive film that stars both Seth Rogen and Zac Efron.
The film has an abundance of crude and sexual humor.
But, overlooking that one minor flaw, “Neighbors” manages to deliver on almost every level.
The script was intelligently written, and the cast all had great chemistry with one another.
The laughs were delivered with the force of a prize fighter’s haymaker and unlike other comedies, there were plenty of them.
There was no noticeable gap in time between one joke and the next. The audience was laughing uncontrollably throughout the entirety of the film and I, as a viewer, never felt unentertained.
The Radners are a young couple, played by Rogen and Rose Byrne, with a newborn daughter, Stella, who are trying to put their old-party-crazed lives behind them.
Things get interesting when a college fraternity, who is known for its outrageous parties, decides to move next door to the Radners.
The fraternity is led by Teddy Sanders (Efron), who wants to earn a place on the fraternity’s hall of fame. He plans on throwing the biggest frat party ever come the end of the year, following a failed attempt to curry the favor of the fraternity.
As mentioned before, the film has many laugh-out-loud moments, but the real strength of the movie comes from the strong performances of the cast.
“Neighbors” may just be loud, dumb pre-summer comedy, but it is a loud, dumb pre-summer comedy with heart.
Rogen and Byrne deliver great performances as the Radners. The Radners simply want to raise their daughter, Stella, in a healthy and nurturing environment.
They are good people who are caught in a bad situation. That is something that the audience can definitely sympathize with.
Efron does an excellent job in bringing his character to life.
He could have been just the typical college frat boy obsessed with girls and alcohol, but the film departs from expectations in that it actually gives the antagonist of the film a heart.
Sanders genuinely cares for his frat brothers, which he regards as a “brotherhood” of sorts. He simply wants to earn his place in his frat’s history by throwing the biggest party ever.
Unfortunately, his goals cause him to butt heads with the Radners.
“Neighbors” centers on exploring the consequences of this confrontation.
It doesn’t matter which side you ultimately root for, “Neighbors” is a must see comedy with a soul that will not leave audiences disappointed.
