A summer isn't complete without some sort of frat-pack film starring one of the Apatow crew. And what's great is that they still produce funny films, which allows us, the viewers, to be excited about seeing them. The quality of the films, however, are starting to diminish little by little as the years go on. If the Apatow crew doesn't catch up with what's funny now, they may end up infected with Sandleritis... a disease that doesn't allow comedy from the early 90s to adapt to a 2014 viewership.
Okay, comparing a Seth Rogen movie to an Adam Sandler movie... that's pretty low. I'm just saying this could be a worst-case-scenario type situation. This year's entry is Neighbors, a film about a newly married couple (Rogen and Rose Byrne) who have just had a new baby are adjusting to life in the suburbs. They're on the brink of realizing they're too old to go partying, and now, with a new baby, life has finally settled in for them. Cue the Sigmas who move in next door and turn the house into a frat house. The frat president and vice president (Zac Effron and Dave Franco respectively) immediately decide that their conniving neighbors, who call the cops on their parties need to go. The parents, who can't sleep due to the excessive partying, decide their dickhead neighbors need to go. So, the two houses wage war on each other trying to destroy each other both physically and mentally, each succeeding and failing in their own ways. Hilarity, mayhem, and a plethora of dick jokes ensue.
Going into the film I was a little worried about Zac Effron. This is his rebellious film in order to break himself out of the Disney curse and establish himself as a comedic actor. And he succeeds. He's great in the film. He actually gets a heavy dosage of the laughs that flow throughout the film. Rose Byrne kills it too. Who knew a strange looking Brit like her could keep her own in a Seth Rogen film? Her and Rogen actually have quite the chemistry. And, Dave Franco has actually just graduated to the most-watchable Franco now. He's the normal kid, with perfect comedic timing that we all want back from James. Until then, it's little brother's time to shine.
It's a fun little film, but it's starting to feel more like "high-concept" comedy than "Apatow" comedy. What set Apatow comedies apart from the rest was that it could be raunchy and crude, but it would contain a gallon of heart, as well as remain topical to the times. Now, while it's still rather topical, and there is the minute glimpse of heart... it's mostly dick jokes. And while dick jokes have a time and a place... an overabundance kills the joke. So, if this was Rogen's last film he wanted to throw all the dick jokes he could into it because he's sworn off dick jokes altogether... then, damn it if there wasn't wall-to-wall dick jokes to tickle your funny bone. But, if this is just another film in the long line of Seth dick joke Rogen's filmography, it's going to get old fast.
B
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