Like a Good Neighbor: Neighbors Review

NO SPOILERS BTW!!!

Weed. Bro humor. Slapstick. The three essentials to a Seth Rogen movie. Let’s face it, it would not be a Seth Rogen movie without it; despite This is The End being a summer smash hit, we’re still loathing in apprehension about the aftermath of the Green Hornet. (I heard Seth Rogen single handed-ly deleted every meme from the internet, BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE GIF'S THOUGH?!?!)

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have a keen knack for writing a stellar comedy; Rogen’s strength lies in his pen (insert Pen is Mightier than the Sword reference, or typical Seth Rogen joke and re-read after “insert” and delete the space between Pen and is) and his natural Will-Ferrell-esque ability to command onscreen attention without saying a line. However by me saying that, it was not Seth Rogen who took the final shot in the fourth quarter. 

That’s right; Seth Rogen was methodically outdone by his supporting cast. For starters Rose Byrne (more recently known for Insidious), playing Rogen’s wife in Neighbors, went blow for blow (spare me the indecent, cheap sexual innuendo) with Rogen throughout the whole movie. As an actress, Rose Byrne is solid and generally plays her characters well (I am not reducing her into merely a character actress) and I’m sure she has done some fine stage work. 

In Neighbors, she almost effortlessly improvises well enough to suggest a career in cinema comedies. I say that ashamedly, because I honestly thought that she was miscast for this role; I felt as though Leslie Mann would have been a more comedic-familiar face, especially since she’s done work with Rogen in Knocked Up and Funny People (age may have been a factor but don’t tell her that, or it would've been somewhat reminiscent of a “This is 40” feel). Ultimately, my bad Miss Byrne you did a fantastic job and surprised the jakes out of me. 

Next up is Lil Franco; yeah Dave Franco, the outrageous yet talented James Franco's younger brother, does his best mellow Dave Franco impression (laid back, yet introverted-ly spastic, with a intrepid delivery that has the potential to turn any punch line into a knockout) as he adds his bro-medic flair to the party. Franco is "lights out" as a wing-man, as he serves as a change of pace character to his counterpart. 

Another fresh face is Jerrod Carmichael who is the oddball in the whole equation but in a good way; he’s passively naive and has the comedic delivery of a seasoned Dave Chappelle apostle (since all black people look alike, he kind of looks like him too). 

To round out my starting five, I introduce, in my opinion, the star of the show; the elusive assassin two-guard; the headliner at Lollapalooza; Zachary “High School Musical” Efron. Zac Efron, in my opinion, was the main event of this production, channeling his inner 21 Jump Street Channing Tatum, Pain & Gain Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, jock with a soft side to deliver possibly the best comedic performance of his young, and hopefully bright comedic career PUSH IT PUSH IT, TO THE LIMIT LIMIT!!! 

Technical foul

Now, I may have pushed pass my limit in saying that Seth Rogen got upstaged left; I mean, he kind of wrote the screenplay for the movie.  So, technically, he’s writing jokes and punch lines for his supporting cast; he’s throwing dimes; he’s located in a remote location somewhere in the world representing OnStar; he’s like a good neighbor (nice Segway). 

Watching Seth Rogen pitter patter throughout his transcendent, simplistic, genuine, comedic screenplay without contributing a hefty amount of onscreen yuck’s to my yuck tank was like watching Boston Batman being pallid and unremarkable in BOTH The Town and Argo; two astonishing movies, that are directed and written in such a manner that would make John Huston proud. 

Hold your horses, I say transcendent because (well I love the word, duh) this movie is introduced as a suburban battle between neighbors; the movie transforms into a generational struggle, with the two parties compromising their established values to progress. The movie further dives into a bilateral expose by highlighting the inner conflict within the two factions; eventually, the film rounds out to a complete comedy, with a 4^th of July-like ending.  

With that said, Seth Rogen surfaces as the Wizard of Oz (paying homage to his buddy James Franco) by being the mastermind behind the curtain, and helms the pen with wit and ingenuity to maneuver a vehicle effectively, and by effectively I mean box-office bullying and critical acclaiming (for the second summer in a row, after an interesting five year comedic flop/acting chop development journey), while at the same time not being all what he’s exactly cracked up to as an Yucknited States Postal Service deliveryman, like his supporting cast undoubtedly were. 

Ultimately, if you haven’t seen it by now, definitely go see it this weekend if you are looking for your monthly yuck’s, because this movie is a very balanced, well rounded comedy, drawing inspiration from comedy reaching from the 60’s physical comedy to the present “just-go-with-it-improv’ comedy (especially if you’re in the male age demographic of 18-35); plus, I'm 50/50 (ha, pun intended) on how good the other Seth's movie will be (although, Ted was a surprise hit, lol).

Outside of that demographic, I honestly feel that this movie has key movements that even an untrained ear could detect and enjoy; the dynamics within the neighbor factions is an interesting dynamic that has enough material and depth to support a standalone movie. 

The Efron/Franco universe felt “21 & Over/Superbad” (another Seth Rogen penning)-ish, and the banter between Rogen and Byrne felt as though they shot another spin-off to Knocked Up (it was very “This is 40”-ish). By no means am I saying that the movie would have been enhanced by splitting them up, Mr. Starks; I am saying it would be interesting to see them focus solely on these story lines.

Sooooo, like I said earlier I’d go see it this weekend if you want to be entertained and enjoy yourself via penis humor (cockloads of them) and slapdick, excuse me, slapstick humor; and if you are skeptical about Seth MacFarlane's second outing, and need an Old School'd laugh; (MacFarlane plays heavily on shock-value humor and references (which is something that I enjoy; however, you may not enjoy this) so it's not say don't go see his movie).

Out in theaters..TODAY, you should g(WHAT A MINUTE!!! #familyguyjoke)

For a summer comedy, I would give it an A+, but for a movie I'd give it a C+ because it doesn't develop characters well (for example, Fogel (yes, I said Fogel) was underutilized) and it kind of just dwindled away pallidly at the end; this averages it out to a B+ overall. B+ for the 'burbs ain't bad for a bro-comedy; hopefully sorority girls don't move in next door **wacka wacka** sequel anyone?!?!