“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” kicks off an unofficial summer trilogy of “women acting as stupid as men” comedies, but I expect “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” and “Bad Moms” will be vastly better. This sequel to the 2014 movie about a loud fraternity that moves in next door to new parents Mac and Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) copies the formula – replacing frat with sorority — but somehow executes it more clumsily this time.
Chloe Grace Moretz is comfortable in the role of Shelby, the lead sorority sister who aims to start a new house where parties are allowed (it’s not at the college’s other sororities). She’s the only big name actress among the main characters, as Selena Gomez’s role as another sorority leader is barely more than a cameo. Shelby’s sidekicks don’t make a memorable impact. A lot of the appeal of the first movie was seeing Byrne “slumming” in a comedy, and seeing respected young actress Moretz as a pot-smoking, modly-pizza-eating louse is worth a chuckle; casting known actresses in the other roles might’ve helped, too.
Most of the set pieces are forgettable, and some are even executed badly. At one point, Shelby pulls a stunt involving the theft of both Mac’s and Kelly’s phones, and it makes no logistical sense. Then, just so Shelby can say “Stupid old-people phone,” she runs with a corded phone and gets yanked to the ground; the phone plays no part in the plot. Even by the standards of an intentionally ridiculous movie, “Neighbors 2” – with five credited writers (never a good sign) — is not fully thought through.
There are some snort-worthy casual gags, such as the fact that Kappa Nu measures its finances in buckets of money. But the sorority, despite being mentored by the original film’s Teddy (Zac Efron), is not nearly over-the-top enough to be worthy of a stupid-but-fun summer movie. Kappu Nu is just really loud. Mac notes that the girls are even worse than the guys from the first movie, but unfortunately that’s not true – it might’ve been funny if they were.
For some reason, “Neighbors 2” – despite its willingness to be ridiculous in so many ways – is hesitant to make these girls really bad. In fact, Shelby and her friends are uncomfortable with attending wild frat parties or expanding their wardrobes beyond comfy hoodies. The only time the “tame” angle works as a punchline is when everyone is crying at “The Fault in Our Stars” – loudly, of course.
The pleasures of the sequel come from Mac and Kelly’s bad parenting. Throughout the film, they don’t alter their foul-mouthed speaking style for their young daughter. The way those scenes end with the camera cutting to the little girl — showing us that she was within earshot all along – is amusing, in part because of the structure and in part because we know the girl was not really in the room for the filming of the scene up until the cutaway. Ike Barinholtz and Carla Gallo are back as Mac and Kelly’s ridiculous friends, but they aren’t given much funny stuff to do; when the always-great Barinholtz (“The Mindy Project”) doesn’t even steal scenes, you know the script is weak.
Teddy gets the only notable character arc, as he begins the film stuck in a frat-boy mentality while his fraternity brothers such as Pete (Dave Franco) are becoming adults. Efron is again good in the role, but Teddy’s mentoring of Kappu Nu isn’t as funny as it should be. The writers do little to comment on the differences — or perhaps humorous similarities – between shallow college guys and shallow college girls. For a better movie about a fish out of water joining a wannabe-cool sorority, check out 2008’s “The House Bunny.” Even the brief sorority scenes in “Pitch Perfect 2” pack more punch than all of “Neighbors 2.”
Because of the likable actors, the new “Neighbors” is worth a pop-in, at least. (Go ahead and rent the DVD, but don’t pay for a movie ticket.)