Review: NEIGHBORS

NEIGHBORS  (COMEDY)
3 out of 4 stars
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, Jerrod Carmichael, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Ike Barinholtz, Carla Gallo, Lisa Kudrow, Craig Roberts
Rated R for pervasive language, strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, and drug use throughout.
Verdict: NEIGHBORS satisfies all the expectations of a hard-R comedy, with brilliantly disgusting gags, patently outrageous behavior and subtle but weight-bearing message about coming into maturity.  Enormously funny, but not necessarily novel, it does what it does with raw energy and surprising star chemistry.
YOU MAY ENJOY NEIGHBORS IF YOU LIKED:
THIS IS THE END (2013)
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (2008)
SUPERBAD (2007)
OLD SCHOOL (2003)
ANIMAL HOUSE (1978)

In a list of the biggest movie and television "game changers" of the past 25 years recently published in Empire magazine, number 23 out of 25 was "Team Apatow", referring to writer/director/producer Judd Apatow, who broke out big in 2005 with THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN, and his various collaborators.  Apatow's legacy has largely revolved around turning ultra-raunchy, super-R-rated comedies with sweet, gooey centers into big box office hits, such as KNOCKED UP (2007), SUPERBAD (2007) and BRIDESMAIDS (2011).  NEIGHBORS follows in those footsteps, it being directed by Nicholas Stoller, who is a behind-the-scenes alumni of Team Apatow himself, having written for the short-lived Apatow-produced television series Undeclared and directed two Apatow productions, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL and GET HIM TO THE GREEK.  You wouldn't know the difference, but NEIGHBORS is Stoller's first film cut loose from his mentor.
Apatow's formula is pretty familiar by now; a fairly simple setup drawn out over a series of mishaps and comedic "set-pieces" with lots of adult misbehavior, strong profanity and a couple of jarringly crude/disgusting moments, all wrapped around a feel-good center usually about coming into maturity.  NEIGHBORS follows that formula closely, but it's all inconsequential in comparison to the question of whether the film is funny or not, which NEIGHBOR most definitely is.
The film stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne (the Australian-born actress known for INSIDIOUS and X-MEN: FIRST CLASS usually sheds her natural accent, but not this time) as the Radners, a married couple beginning to settle into adulthood in their peaceful suburban home with a newborn daughter, but this becomes very difficult when a college fraternity moves in next-door.  The president of the fraternity is Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron), who aspires to become the fraternity's next legend by throwing the wildest parties of all time, alongside his best friend and vice president, Pete Regazolli (Dave Franco, younger brother of James).  Although the Radners and Teddy get on pretty well on first introductions, their neighborly relationship soon turns sour as the frat's raucous and less than family friendly parties disturb the Radners' quality of living.
Although he's best known for less-than-quality movies (for reference, his musicals are probably the best things he's been in), Efron is a magnetic comic presence, getting many of the best laughs as the brash and not-terribly-bright Teddy, but what's really strange is how well he gets on with Rogen onscreen.  They're great as rivals, but they could make a pretty good buddy comedy, too.  And while these kinds of comedies most often cater exclusively to men (especially college-age men), NEIGHBORS is surprisingly more gender-inclusive, and not just because of Efron's frequent lack of shirt.  Although the marketing focuses heavily on Rogen and Efron as the headliners, Byrne's part is just about as prominent as theirs, proving her own in every scene.
Outside of a few choice pranks (including one highlighted in the trailers), the big laughs aren't generally unique, much of them revolving around typical setups like fights, drug use and extreme anatomy, the execution is spot-on, as are the performers.
After the lackluster THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 last week, NEIGHBORS is the first really good mainstream, wide-release movie of the summer, and is the best of everything you'd expect.

What if NEIGHBORS did for Robert De Niro parties what ANIMAL HOUSE did for food fights?  [Sigh], If only...