Why I Saw It: Take your pick. I love comedies. The cast is wonderful. It's not like I was going to see Moms' Night Out. I'll stop there.
Cast: I'm unapologetically a huge Seth Rogen fan which helped get me into the theater. What's odd is that he's more of the eyes into the world than the person driving the mayhem. Don't get me wrong, he has some great moment s and does fine work but no one is coming out of the theater talking about him after seeing this. Rose Byrne has done nothing but impress me with her comedic turns. While largely playing the heel in Bridesmaids and Get Him to the Greek, she gets her chance to play a more accessible, comedic character and nails it. I appreciate that Zach Effron is giving comedy his full effort here. He's not as polished as some of those around him but he's still very good. The supporting performances are numerous and hilarious. Dave Franco keeps making a play at becoming my favorite Franco. Christopher Mintz-Plasse has done all he needs to to escape McLovin'. I'm not sure if I've see Jerrod Carmichael before. After this, I'm sure I will though. Ike Barinholtz brings, well, basically that character he plays in things to this movie and it fits perfectly. And don't forget Apatow journeyman Carla Gallo who makes the most of her limited screen time. In short, it's a great cast for a comedy.
Plot: Frat vs. Family. There's not much more to it than that. Rogen and Byrne buy a house. A frat moves in next door. A battle to be the last one standing ensues. There's actually a lot in there about what happens when you grow up and the importance of doing so. None of it gets in the way of the laughs, but like how Forgetting Sarah Marshall has more heart than you'd expect, this does too. I want to stress however, nothing is ever at the expense of forgetting to be funny.
Elephant in the Room: How long is it? A problem with comedies these days, especially ones in the Judd Apatow Universe (I should note he is not a producer for this although Rogen is) is that the final product is often exhaustingly long with a lot of fat left to be trimmed. It's normally because the looser filming structure gives the editor a wealth of material to use. This works well in something like Knocked up. More often though, you get This Is 40 or Anchorman 2, which overstay their welcomes. That is not the case with Neighbors. It's barely 90 minutes and doesn't drag at all. That said, I can't wait to get the director's cut of this because there is certain to be a lot of deleted scenes and alternate cuts.
Now Hear Me Out: I've come up with an alternate way to watch it. I like to pretend this is a sequel of Superbad the way that Get Him to the Greek is of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The common link is that McLovin' becomes Scoonie after failing out of Dartmouth for being too much of a badass. I'm not sure how well this works, but I certainly believe the two movies belong in the same universe.
To Sum Things Up:
I loved this movie. It's the most I've laughed since...This Is the End, I guess, and it a much better cut movie. It looks like this is going to be a big comedy hit and I won't begrudge its success like I did with The Hangover. It's a director I love, with a collection of actors I like watching, and screenwriters I'm happy to follow to their next project. If you like to laugh, this is worth your time.
Oh, and that baby is adorable.
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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