The cast from the comedy “Neighbors,” namely Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne and Zac Efron, are back for a sequel. Time Warner Cable News film critic Neil Rosen filed the following review of “Neighbors 2.”
Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne and Zac Efron starred in the very funny comedy "Neighbors." Now, they are all back for the sequel "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising."
Rogen and Byrne are back as the Radnors, and they are trying to sell their house to accommodate their growing family. The fraternity that used to be next door is long gone and life has been peaceful. However, all that changes when a sorority headed by Chloe Grace Moretz moves into that old frat house.
Moretz and her friends have started a new sorority because the existing ones do not allow partying; only frat houses can do that. It is a sexist rule that these girls will not stand for. The girls smoke a lot of weed and are super noisy, jeopardizing the sale of the Radnors' house. When Rogen complains, the sorority declares war.
Zac Efron, who was the Radnors' biggest nemesis in the first movie, is back too – but is on their side this time.
There is lots of raunchy humor here and tons of slapstick. A lot of it works, thanks to the talents of Rogen and Efron and particularly new addition Moretz, who displays some good comedy skills. Co-writer and veteran comedy director Nicholas Stoller, who helmed the first one, also knows how to make it funny.
Some scenes are strained as they try to recreate the magic of the first film, and some gags are overused and wear out their welcome. But there's also a good number of laughs along the way, and the fact that it's a female house adds a nice touch of feminism and some originality to the proceedings.
Overall, "Neighbors 2" is not as good as the original, but fans of the first film will still find enough humor here to make it worth a look.
Neil Rosen’s Big Apple Rating:
Two and a Half Apples