Film Review: Funny But Familiar Trip to Frat House in ‘Neighbors’

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CHICAGO – I have a high tolerance for Seth Rogen, but he begins to show some signs of creative exhaustion in “Neighbors,” a raunchy frat house comedy that’s never quite as funny as it should be. Rogen’s onscreen persona here comes dangerously close to schtick.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Rogen and Rose Byrne are new parents who are trying to find some time for themselves again while figuring out how to raise their new baby daughter. Their lives get even more complicated when a frat house led by Zac Efron and Dave Franco moves in right next door. Eager to show they haven’t lost their “hip” factor, the new parents try to ingratiate themselves with the college kids next door. But after some initial bonding over psychedelic mushrooms the relationship turns sour when the frat’s late night antics wake up the baby, Rogen calls the cops and both sides declare war.

Rogen’s on-screen patterns have now become intimately familiar to even casual fans. He will be exasperated, he will yell, he will smoke weed and look quizzically while dropping his quips, and he will laugh that distinctive laugh. This still works in his role as the new father, but the gags and quips themselves just aren’t as fresh as they once were. I laughed, but I also had the dull nagging sensation that I had seen this act one too many times before and it may be time for something new.

Continue reading for Spike Walter’s full review of “Neighbors”

Teddy (Zac Effon) Confers with Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) in ‘Neighbors’
Photo credit: Universal Pictures

Continue reading for Spike Walter’s full review of “Neighbors”