Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) is the President of the Delta Psi fraternity that recently moved into the house next door to Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Rose Byrne) of whom just had their baby. The couple is concerned that the noise and anticts of a college frat could possibly turn their parenting world inside out so they decide to establish an “understanding” between the froth through Teddy and Pete Regazolli (Dave Franco), the fraternity’s VP. And, well, you would be correct in assuming it doesn’t go quite as well as planned.
To sum it up, Neighbors is the right combination of Knocked Up and Animal House, with just the right dose from each. Zac Efron has had a long-standing role of the kind jock who takes the high road and gets the girl in the end while learning a valuable lesson about life. And it’s that kind of sappy stuff that make him a Hollywood hearthrob among teenage girls, yet not a box office hit with young and middle-aged males. But here’s the thing; it’s quite possible that Zac Efron nails it with this one. It could have been because of the support from co-stars like Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, or it could have been because Efron had this hidden talent where he could make us laugh all these past years. Either way, I laughed out loud several times at the antics of Efron, and I was entertained throughout the entirety of the film.
To sum it up, Neighbors is the right combination of Knocked Up and Animal House, with just the right dose from each.
Overall, Neighbors seems fresh even if some of the jokes are recycled from other various assortments of Seth Rogen films. You grow to genuinely enjoy the characters in Neighbors, especially Teddy Sanders, despite him being the primary antagonist in the film. And we hope Efron continues to show us that he can do a lot more than mouth the words to songs and attempt to dance in musicals about grade school.
Directed by Nicholas Stoller, produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and starring Seth Rogen, Rose Byren, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Neighbors hit theaters May 9, 2014.
