REVIEW: Neighbors

Courtesy of Universal

Nicholas Stoller’s track record as a director has ensured that I’m at least curious about any project he signs up for. Sometimes he nails it (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and sometimes it’s a flawed attempt at an interesting premise (The Five-Year Engagement), but he’s never made a truly bad movie. That trend continues with the raunchy and hysterical Neighbors, which extends Seth Rogen’s mini-comeback and establishes Zac Efron as an unexpectedly powerful comedic presence.

Rogen and Rose Byrne play Mac and Kelly Radner, new parents who are desperate to rejuvenate their long-dormant social life. They get the chance when they watch a fraternity move in next door to their suburban home. The couple desperately wants to believe they’re still cool, so they try to ignore the frat’s hard-partying lifestyle, even though the loud music and bright lights keep them and their daughter awake until the early hours of the morning.

However, after an especially rough night, Mac calls the police, believing their noise complaint will remain anonymous. Instead, the clueless cop points him out to the frat’s leaders (Efron and Dave Franco). The incident leads the friendly-but-awkward neighbors to engage in all-out war involving busted water pipes, alcohol-induced betrayal, and an inspired trick employing cleverly-placed airbags. Things escalate so quickly that’s there’s only two ways the battle can end: either the frat gets kicked out of school or the Radners lose their minds.

For the first 20 minutes or so, writers Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien revel in what I call “cringe comedy” as Mac and Kelly attempt to prove they’re still young and cool. Not to say the creative team doesn’t successfully execute the uncomfortable gags, I’m just not a big fan of that particular comedic style.

The flick gets much funnier once they come to terms with being fuddy-duddies, especially since Rogen and Byrne are so fantastic at reveling in “boring” married couple behavior. Once their characters accept reality and shift their focus on destroying the punks next door, the laughs come pretty much nonstop.

A great many of those laughs come from Efron, which might surprise moviegoers. He showed comedic potential in 17 Again a few years back, but hasn’t really had a chance to develop it further until now. There’s a refreshing lack of ego in his performance; he’s not afraid to come across as downright loathsome in the final act. Franco is also good as his sidekick in a role that’s reminiscent of the drug-dealing nice guy he played in 21 Jump Street.

But the film’s under-the-radar MVP is Byrne, finally getting to use her natural Australian accent to make Kelly’s raunchy dialogue and behavior seem almost sophisticated in a twisted way. She’s also a miracle worker as the focal point of a hilarious scene that makes brilliant use of Fergie’s “London Bridge.” Byrne’s so good she made me like a Fergie song – that’s madness.

Not everyone will be on board for the unusually filthy R-rated comedy. But those who give Neighbors a shot will enjoy the funniest movie of the year so far.

Neighbors is rated R for pervasive language, strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity and drug use throughout.

Grade: B+