“Neighbors 2” an improvement on the first!
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising is directed by Nicholas Stoller, and written by Andrew J. Cohen, Brendan O’Brien, Nicholas Stoller, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg. It stars Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ike Barinholtz, Kiersey Clemons, Dave Franco, and Beanie Feldstein.
It’s pretty surprising how good Neighbors 2 is. The original was a solid comedy held together with some enthusiastic performances. When the title for this film was released, the sorority angle seemed a dumb gimmick that was unlikely to capture what the made the first installment…not special exactly, but highly entertaining to be sure. However, this film is an improvement on just about every level, and is a clear step forward for the, um, Neighbors franchise.
What is so surprising about this film is that it feels so earnest. Not cynical in the least. I can’t remember a mainstream comedy I’ve seen recently that has so much affection for its characters. At no point does it ever feel mean-spirited. The film also demonstrates a real desire to be socially responsible. My first thought on this was that the film was merely anticipating potential criticisms and catering to a young audience, but the more I thought about it the more impressed I was. Many R-rated Hollywood comedies are utterly indifferent to this side of things. They didn’t have to go the route they did, and I appreciate this film for making the effort.
Keeping Nicholas Stoller as the director was the right call, as was bringing on Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg as co-writers. The two have worked with Judd Apatow, and their work bears his mark. They make raunchy comedies that celebrate the beauty of friendship, particularly male friendship. These films love indulging in dialogue, in all of its profanity and unstated mutual reverence.
What Neighbors 2 does is explore women of the Rogen-Goldberg character type, something that feels quietly revolutionary. The film is eager to dive into themes of sexism of gendered double-standards. There are moments where these themes are less than elegant in their presentation, but it feels genuine all the same, and I can’t really hold it against the film for trying.
Chloë Grace Moretz’s pot-smoking, potty-mouthed Shelby is striking from her introduction. This is not a character we are quite used to seeing. When she discovers that sororities are not allowed to throw parties (“really! This is a real thing!” Selena Gomez tells us when it comes up), she decides to start her own sorority outside of the system with her friends, and rents the house next door to Mac and Kelly (the same one occupied by the frat last time). You can imagine where it goes from here.
The plot of the film is nothing revelatory. Beat for beat, it is strongly reminiscent of Neighbors 1, occasionally to its detriment. The film’s climax, echoing the original’s, fails to distinguish itself. It doesn’t help that an earlier tailgate sequence is a far superior comic set-piece.
Also suffering from familiarity are the arcs of Mac and Kelly, our ostensible leads. At the beginning of the film, Kelly finds herself pregnant for a second time, and the couple again has anxiety over whether they are good parents or not. There is nothing new or interesting about their dynamic in this film, and it feels like something of a missed opportunity. Rogen and Byrne are still game performers though, and Byrne in particular really comes into her own, getting some great lines and one of the film’s biggest laughs.
The highlight of Neighbors 2, however, is Zac Efron, who comes into his own as a major comic talent in this film. This is his best performance. Teddy Sanders is a fantastic character. Teddy, now out of college and the greek life, has no place in the world. He is a man-child, who just wants to be valued. He engenders so much empathy and generates so many laughs.
By the end of the film I had grown attached to all of its characters, and found myself yearning for a Neighbors 3. A few moments fall flat. The uniform vulgarity of the dialogue can get exhausting, for instance. But on the whole Neighbors 2 is a great time.
-Anthony Calamunci
