“Neighbors” modestly kicks off the summer comedy season with a lot of smiles and chuckles but not many belly laughs. Perhaps a reflection of the mainstreaming of the gross-out comedy genre in the last 15 years, it delivers humor centered around drugs, sex and vulgarity that won’t be surprising to anyone who has watched a blockbuster comedy in the post-“American Pie” era. It’s still breezy and likeable, though.
“Neighbors” features a generation clash between 30-something couple Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne and the fraternity that moves in next door, highlighted by Zac Efron, Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Rogen plays the same cuddly stoner he plays in every movie, while Byrne refreshingly gets to use her natural Australian accent. They make a cute couple because they’re almost always on the same page as they raise a baby and wish they could be as fun and cool as they were 10 years ago. Their only major clash is when Rogen argues that he’s the Kevin James of the couple, and she’s supposed to be the smart one. She figures she’s allowed to have a bit of Kevin James in her too. Good for the writers for breaking free from the template at least a little bit.
Even as the neighbors’ rivalry escalates, the frat guys remain fairly likeable. While we live in a culture of extended adolescence — as evidenced by Rogen’s whole resume — in another sense, I think up-and-coming generations are nicer and more laid-back than previous ones. Rather than being ageist and dismissive, Efron, Franco and company actually are welcoming to their “old” neighbors. Loud all-night parties would be annoying in real life, but “Neighbors” approaches it in a comedic manner, so it’s hard to get too worked up about it. While mostly told from the 30-somethings’ perspective, there’s an equal number of scenes of the college kids, so there’s not a strong sense of “good guys versus bad guys.”
Most of the film – which must’ve been cheap to make — takes place at the two houses, and the pleasure of “Neighbors” is in watching familiar faces do their thing. Franco delivers lines in the same goofy manner as his older brother, James, including a great one about a 3-D printer printing a mold of his penis while he goes to class. He also does a spot-on “Meet the Fockers” De Niro. Mintz-Plasse still has some cachet from his McLovin days. Jerrod Carmichael, as frat brother Garf, is a cool, laid-back newcomer. Efron, often shirtless in “Neighbors,” has certainly grown up since he was the gawky kid on “Summerland,” although he doesn’t bring much to the table here other than eye candy for female viewers. And as Rogen’s buddy, Ike Barinholtz gets a few good lines, although this role is a far cry from Morgan on “The Mindy Project.”
Ultimately, “Neighbors” – despite being a raunchy frat comedy – amounts to a pleasant evening at the movies where you can turn your brain off. The downside is that it won’t stay in your brain more than a few minutes after watching it.
