Neighbors - Movie Review

Neighbors is your fun, exciting, and wildly inappropriate college movie of the summer. It's filled with plenty of sex, swearing, and obnoxious and over the top scenes. So why is this so appealing? Well, the answer is simple. Seth Rogen and Zac Efron both bring characters that the audience can relate to. We either have the more adult behavior of Rogen, constantly overreacting while trying to be a parent and adult figure. Then you have Efron who brings out the wild side of the film with crazy parties and plenty of college festivities. So there's always going to be one character that you especially relate to, and the wild ride continues from there.

The acting was fairly good but the best performance for me was Rose Byrne as Kelly Radner, the wife of Rogen's character. She was consistently on top of things and her comedic timing was spot on. She never missed a moment to shine and she stole nearly every scene she was in. Rogen did his typical performance, which isn't bad, just not necessarily exciting or new. It was fun seeing Efron in a new kind of movie (opposed to his previous career of more kid movies) and he definitely took this opportunity and ran. He plays a great rebellious character and is definitely good at comedic acting. As for everyone else, there was no bad acting. There was just a bunch of pretty decent performances that end up a bit forgettable in the end.

One thing I have to note is there is a lot of laugh out loud material in this. I saw it with a packed crowed and people were bursting out with laughter every minute. I even admit there were a few times where I just couldn't help myself and was clapping along with the shenanigans unfolding on screen. The movie isn't necessarily set up to have strong, developed characters or a unique plot. It's made for the purpose of entertaining and it sure does deliver. So if you're looking for a movie that has a developed plot, this isn't the movie for you. But if you have a desire to see it, I'd definitely recommend doing so. It's also a lot more fun with a large group, so the sooner you go the better. Packed theaters are a lot more fun.

The summer blockbuster season has officially started, and this is the first major comedy of the season. So I'd say if you're OK with plenty of sex jokes (penis jokes), weed jokes, frat jokes, and adults-trying-to-be-young jokes, you're in for a fun ride. My advice would be not to think about everything and just watch it mindlessly. If you think about it too much and put a critical eye on it, it definitely won't be as enjoyable. Just sit back and laugh away. B+