Neighbors: "Who's your Batman?"

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Cinema Discusso > Neighbors: "Who's your Batman?"

AnimeJune: Dec 3, 2007; "We're dead. Bartowski's got a gun."

Neighbors is a frat-house comedy directed by Nicholas Stollar (Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Five Year Engagement). The premise is pretty simple - a young married couple with a new baby (Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne) are worried when a frat house (run by Zac Efron and Dave Franco) moves in next door. The couple at first tries to play it cool, but when they call in a noise complaint to the cops, they spark off an escalating personal-property-destroying prank war. The film also mixes in some empathetic themes about growing up and being cool and all that poo poo.

Since no one else has started a thread for it, I will. This film is funny. Like, really funny. Astoundingly, given Stollar's previous history, the film is expertly paced pretty much from start to finish. It still uses some Apatowish conversational humour but it's far more structured and has no meandering, endless third act that sucks out all the goodwill and humour derived from the first two.

Seth's good, Dave Franco's good, and Rose Byrne is especially hilarious in this film, or maybe I just think so because I'm so used to women being the shrewish "voice of reason" in gross-out comedies. However, an outstanding Zac Efron steals the film - he hits just the right notes of earnestness, malice, and manic insanity. It also doesn't hurt that he's in the best shape of his entire loving life.

Also, keep an eye out for cameos from The Lonely Island and Workaholics.

Enjoy the trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL5c2szf3E4

# ¿ May 11, 2014 06:40

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 21:01

AnimeJune: Dec 3, 2007; "We're dead. Bartowski's got a gun."

Kingtheninja posted:

I loved it. It had a great combination of actors in it and the verbal and physical comedy blended really well together. Also Rogan and Efron's relationship in the movie was fantastic.

I loved Efron's character taking "we crossed the streams!" so seriously.

# ¿ May 12, 2014 02:25

AnimeJune: Dec 3, 2007; "We're dead. Bartowski's got a gun."

Rough Lobster posted:

The main cast is great (Rose Byrne is loving hilarious and not the 'serious no fun wife' that always shows up in these kind of movies) but the supporting characters are amazing.

I actually liked how the movie explicitly comments on this near the end when Rogan asks why Byrne didn't put a stop to this nonsense, because she's "the woman/mother" and should be more responsible. "We can't have two Kevin James!" .

I dunno, I really liked pretty much everything about this movie. I thought it ended when it should have ended and didn't drag things out or belabour a joke until it wasn't funny anymore, which was kind of what I got from 5 Year Engagement. I don't think I've laughed harder this year than at the climax fight scene when Zac and Seth are battling with dildos, beer cans, and trampolines. But humour is completely subjective so if you don't laugh, you don't laugh. I just laughed more than I expected to - mainly because my favourite jokes were nowhere NEAR the trailers, like the dildo-making scene, the dance-off, Rose Byrne's seduction of Pete and Teddy's girlfriend, the "everybody hurts" hazing montage, anything involving Garf, etc.

I also liked the emotional undercurrent of the movie as well, which is a huge strength carried over from previous Stollar (and Apatow) films.

# ¿ May 12, 2014 13:45

AnimeJune: Dec 3, 2007; "We're dead. Bartowski's got a gun."

Jonny Angel posted:

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, but there was only one exchange that really made me laugh uncontrollably:

Pete: "You know, as a child of divorce, I can't help but think what we're doing is really going to screw Stella up."
Teddy: "Well, my parents love me and I think it's hilarious."

Just this sledgehammer of pitch-black comedy out of nowhere.

I seriously couldn't stop laughing whenever Dave Franco did his insta-boner facial expression, especially during the scene where he and Zac are fighting. "No! NO! GROSS!"

"IT'S A GIFT AND A CURSE!"

# ¿ May 17, 2014 20:22

AnimeJune: Dec 3, 2007; "We're dead. Bartowski's got a gun."

surf rock posted:

Also, it felt really, really weird that Rogan and Byrne didn't get ANY type of comeuppance. I mean, they committed multiple crimes and escalated the war after they already got what they wanted. Literally everything working out for the couple is a weird direction to go with. At least have them be caught in the pot-filled house and get arrested or something, poo poo.

I thought it was intentional. Rogen and Byrne's characters were scared that they had already gotten too old, that having a baby and a family and a house meant that they were losing their touch, that they could never return to the wild-partying prank-filled consequence-free days of yore. In society and popular narrative, the younguns getting into trouble and slipping away by the skin of their teeth is fairly popular. Since one of the themes of the movie is that you're only as old as you let yourself be, the fact that Rogen and Byrne were able to perpetuate this crazy scheme and slip away without being caught to take care of their baby helped them realize that they're only "too old to live" if they let themselves be.

# ¿ May 25, 2014 18:47

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Cinema Discusso > Neighbors: "Who's your Batman?"