Bad Neighbours: Movie Review

Bad Neighbours: Movie Review

Cast: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco
Director: Nicholas Stoller

We all know how important it is to have good neighbours. (As the song goes, "Everybody needs Good Neighbours").

Well, this new comedy takes that suburban fear to new heights.

Rogen and Byrne stars as Mac and Kelly Radner, who've recently had a kid and are struggling to get back into the fun side of their lives. But, fun comes knocking in more ways than one when a fraternity moves next door to them.

Despite president Teddy (Zac Efron) promising to keep the noise down, Mac's forced to call the cops - and suddenly, it's all out war as a feud quickly escalates between the two homes....

Bad Neighbours does exactly what its raucous trailer suggests - and the fact it has Seth Rogen only serves to compound the gross behaviour on display. The film sets its stall out right away as Mac tells his wife he's taking her to "boner town"; and the gross out gags don't stop there - and actually culminate with Mac trying to milk his wife one morning after they've been out partying with the frat. Subtle it ain't, but amusing it is - if you're prepared to lower your standards and check your brain at the door.

And yet for all the base accusations you can level at Bad Neighbours, and its low brow humour, there are some genuinely funny laugh out loud moments, giving you a sense of fun at this movie more than anything.

Rogen phones in his usual slacker stoner humour as the war begins to escalate; Byrne proves a good foil for Rogen, keeping up with his level; and Efron tries, but just slightly fails to bring an edgier touch to his high school goodie two shoes image as the suburban turf war gets into gear.

The only real problem with Bad Neighbours is that at about the two thirds mark, it runs out of collective steam, with nowhere to go. Having showcased the generational difference between Mac, a Michael Keaton loving Batman and Teddy, whose Batman is gravel-voiced Christian Bale, the film throws any attempts at narrative out the window and just decides it has to end it all in the last third with an Efron / Rogen showdown that amuses but pales in comparison to what has already gone on.

If you're prepared to check your brain at the door, and fancy a raucous laugh that doesn't challenge you too much (and even proffers up one of the cutest babies committed to celluloid) then Bad Neighbours will be for you. It may even make you go home and reconsider your stance on that house that's always partying into the wee small hours....

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