The best comedies — even the most ridiculous, raunchy, and
foul-mouthed among them — are successful because they contain at least the
tiniest grain of human truth, a recognizable bit of emotion that its audience
can connect with on some level. In the case of “Neighbors,” the new comedy from
Nicholas Stoller (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”), the
truth is that growing older scares the shit out of us, and that fear results in
most of us needing to be dragged into maturity kicking and screaming all the
way. Maybe that’s a ludicrously high-minded way to begin talking about a movie
that has stars Seth Rogen and Zac Efron
engaging in a rubber dildo slap fight, but it’s also the reason that scene ends
up being as funny as it is.
Mac (Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne,
“Bridesmaids”) are new parents to an adorable six-month-old baby girl (I’d be
inclined to say that using an infant to earn laughs so frequently is just Stoller pandering to his audience, but man is that kid
cute). As the film begins, they’ve just moved into a new home in a nice, quiet
suburban neighborhood. Though they both have anxieties about entering this new
age of adulthood and domesticity, they both claim to be ok with letting go of
the carefree days of their youth and accepting that their lives now revolve
around the responsibility of being a parent But when a fraternity also moves
into the neighborhood, they’re worried that the inevitable barrage of non-stop
partying will mean sleepless nights for them as well as their baby.
At first, the couple is concerned with appearing “cool” as
they approach the frat’s leaders, Teddy (Efron) and
Pete (Dave Franco), with their concerns, bringing a joint with them as
peace-offering and hoping to avoid being perceived as the boring old people
across the street. It turns out their plan goes a little too well, and they end
up being sucked into a drug-fueled night of partying with their new neighbors.
Mac finds himself bonding with Teddy, and cements their newfound friendship
with a promise to call Teddy directly before involving the police if there’s
ever a problem in the future. Of course, that promise is broken the very next
night when Kelly and Mac call the cops after being kept awake by the rager outside, and Teddy and Pete decide to get even,
setting the stage for all-out generational warfare.
The film’s writers, Andrew J. Cohen
and Brendan O’Brien, show an appealing willingness to place blame at the feet
of their protagonists. After all, if Mac and Kelly didn’t break their word,
they might have found a way to coexist in peace with their collegiate
neighbors. This, in addition to adding some nuance to the frat characters — it’s
clear that at their hearts, Teddy and Pete are both good guys — goes a long way
in keeping the character’s increasingly outlandish behavior at least vaguely
understandable. The film’s ability to ground all the wackiness and endless dick
jokes in a basic truthfulness is its greatest asset.
Byrne proves to be the film’s MVP, showing she’s every bit as
capable of getting down and dirty as her male costars. It’s nice to see her
character treated as an equal partner in the hijinks instead of relegated to
the role of nagging wife. In fact, the one major argument between Kelly and Mac
is a result of her feeling like he’s treating her as such. Kelly admits that
during her days spent alone with only the baby for company, she’s bored. As a
result, she throws herself into the ensuing battle with even more fervor than
her husband. It’s an intriguing bit of shading to her character, and one that I
wish had been explored even more. Rogen is also good,
playing a variation of the traditional Seth Rogen
role. He and Byrne play off one another well, and they make for remarkably
believable couple. Efron is a surprise, stretching
his admittedly limited skills to prove an appealing comedic presence while
capably portraying Teddy’s layers of doubt and wounded pride.
Stoller can allow his actors to
engage too often in the improv-heavy Apatow brand of comedy, and these extended moments can
grind the movie to a halt as the actors riff off one another with mixed
results. But for the most part he keeps things moving, deserving praise for
keeping his film to a trim 96 minutes, as well as injecting some welcome style
through the many elaborate party sequences — both traits that happily set his
film apart from the static aesthetic and unwieldy runtimes that characterize
too many modern comedies. While it doesn’t reach the level of instant classic,
his “Neighbors” sets an appreciably high bar for the rest of this summer’s
comedies to clear.
This article appears in May 7-13, 2014.
