Seth Rogen has been a huge name in comedy for a very long time. This man has been around since the Freaks and Geeks era of teen/stoner comedy films, and he’s consistently produced some very witty feature films. Superbad, This is the End, Pineapple Express, The Green Hornet, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and even Sausage Party are all part of his portfolio. In the world of so many classics that Rogen has produced, Neighbors might not be the best, but it’s still one of the sharpest comedy films that Seth Rogen has had a hand in.
How to Download Neighbors
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The Movie Review
In an effort to convince themselves that their lives are not over and they are not elderly, Mac and Kelly recently welcomed a kid. Their house is in the suburbs, a peaceful place that has never been loud, and life is going as smoothly as it can. However, their fantasy of not being old and lazy is challenged when a frat house moves in next door, led by Teddy Sanders. While initially, the couple is annoyed at the frat boys who are loud and inconsiderate of their neighbors. Eventually, our heroes have enough, and the movie shifts to our couple trying to undermine the overly boisterous frat house, trying to get the tenants kicked out of the house.
Neighbors is either completely beloved or absolutely despised by anyone who has seen it. There is no middle ground, I guess people are just not looking for it. Neighbors is funny, this is a comedy film that focuses entirely on the humor, and leaves the character development to the side while trying not to push the characters into the realm of realism. However, the main protagonists played by Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are there to be relatable themselves, keeping a nice balance.
Most of the amusing bits were revealed in the trailer, as with most comedies these days. However, I did manage to laugh a few times while watching this movie. This is a film filled with crude humor, but that’s not a problem because the film does develop its characters quite well while also giving you time to relate to their stories and feel for them over time. Yes, a lot of the humor is smutty or obscene, which is generally not most people’s cup of tea I’m assuming, but this film really does make it work!
Rose Byrne is the real showstopper in this film though, better than both Efron and Rogen combined. In fact, Dave Franco is here too in a pretty significant role, right up there next to Efron’s, but he’s not as good as the other two male leads. Rose Byrne though, takes every scene with a commanding comedic presence and makes you feel more interested in the story. Seth Rogen is funny here, about as funny as you would expect him to be. Zac Efron on the other hand is just playing a watered-down version of himself, which works for this particular film to be fair. I would have preferred if this film had much sharper comedic timing by the actors though.
The film isn’t too visually impressive, but it looks coherent at least. The camera work is consistent, even if it isn’t consistently good. It’s consistently OK, consistently bland, or even consistently dull, but never consistently good or even consistently bad period I’ve used the word consistently way too consistently in this portion because there’s not much to say about this film’s visuals other than what I’ve just said. It’s OK at best, bland and dull at worst.
The music is often times very loud, very raunchy, and excessive in this film to showcase the lifestyle of these annoying frat boys who have found themselves living in a suburban area. The way Rose and Seth’s characters react to them is perfectly depicted because that’s how anyone would react although not as excessively. The point is, that the music does play a huge part in making you feel the perspectives of each character.
Verdict
Neighbors is an entertaining film overall because of its funny characters and a great ensemble. Neighbors comedic gold for millennials, it delivers in every aspect that you expect and is absolutely worth seeing. It can be summarized as a very energetic movie that stays true to itself and with a brief running time is conscious of its limitations. It’s an exciting, raunchy, and oftentimes obscene summertime comedy that can become a guilty pleasure.
