Bad Neighbours, 2014.
Directed by Nicholas Stoller.
Starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Dave Franco and Lisa Kudrow.
SYNOPSIS:
A couple with a newborn baby face unexpected difficulties after they are forced to live next to a fraternity house.
As the summer rollercoaster beings its journey from boarding station through the swirly, twirly ups and downs of blockbuster land, it’s easy to forget those little guys you can see in the distance: the comedies. This year offers the return of Seth MacFarlane, those crazy lads from Jump Street and ready for Big Saint Nick, Harry and Lloyd return later this year. First out the traps though is everyone’s favourite goofball, Seth Rogen, teamed with hunkier than hunk Zach Efron in the season’s first comedy heavyweight.
Bad Neighbours, directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) is an energetic, colourful comedy that will have many rolling in the aisles this summer. It certainly breaks no new ground in either its approach or its story (Efron doesn’t want to grow up, Rogen yearns for his youth now he is a father) but for the most part does tickle those funny bones to good effect. It’s a mish-mash of American Pie and Old School, with Stoller keeps proceedings moving swiftly through its refreshingly average 96 minute run-time, moving through the stoner jokes by way of knob and bum gags (anyone interested in a Zach Efron dildo is well taken care of here) and a Lisa Kudrow-as-Phoebe cameo.
Rogen, with typical foul-mouthed gusto, is a kinetic whirlwind of awkwardness and daftness, and delivers one of his better performances to date. But while he delivers, you can’t help but feel that the joke is perhaps wearing thin. In a way, Bad Neighbours represents a crossroads for Rogen: continue to produce his signature comedy, or does the comedian challenge himself, in the way he did in the likes of 50/50? While not suggesting he should follow Jim Carrey or Will Ferrell and go straight, there is no doubting Rogen has more to offer than a mild regurgitation of his routines every summer. It would be a shame to live in a world where a Seth Rogen picture becomes feared rather than embraced, a la Adam Sandler. Still, I guess if it ain’t broke…
Efron, meanwhile, is a good sport throughout, enjoying his alpha male presence in his fraternity. But despite his sportsmanship, he is ultimately the films eye candy more than anything else, and one hopes his excellent performance in last year’s The Paperboy wasn’t a flash in the pan. Byrne too is game for a laugh here, and shows lots of gusto and enthusiasm as Rogen’s wife and partner-in-crime.
When it’s funny, Bad Neighbours is very funny, but while a recommendation is secure, this is hardly anything neither surprising nor radical. Playing as a sort of absurd Peter Pan-like tale for the Twitter age, the film struggles with consistency, as well it’s over reliance on Seth Rogen’s slightly tiresome routines. Like riding Space Mountain at Disneyland for the 20th time, the fun is still evident, but the thrills are starting to wane.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★
Scott Davis
Originally published May 2, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
